The Boy In The Photograph
by syrraki
Summary: Naruto knew it wasn't his house, of course. He just hadn't thought anyone would be back to claim it.
1. Chapter 1

The Boy In The Photograph

Acknowledgments: Beta'd by **frickative** who doesn't _watch_ Naruto but is amazing for reading through my stuff and being so supportive when I mess up on ridiculous things. Also thanks to **transient_words** who gave me some really really lovely feedback and made me brave enough to dip my toes into the pool of srs Naruto fanfic. The story is inspired by Soesy's Set In Stone which is what started the whole thing. It's a great story, check it out :). Aside from the mentioned, I've drawn inspiration from countless, countless other fic that I've read.

Disclaimer: i don't own any of it. nada.

Summary: Naruto knew it wasn't his house, of course. He just hadn't thought anyone would be back to claim it.  
Genre: Humour, Romance, Angst, General  
Wordcount: ~4000/20,000  
Part 1/5

* * *

There was something in the house.

It was quiet, silent even, but he knew it was there.

Earlier that day, a little after noon, people had arrived and he had retreated to the forest and the protection and shelter it gave. He had been worried then, worried that they were going to want to use the house, to live in it, or demolish it and build something else there. He had hidden in a large tree (the oak in the field behind the house, his favourite to sleep in on sunny days) that was not so far that he couldn't see the house but not so close that he would be detected, and watched them. A group of six had gone in, one of them carrying a large cardboard box. Of the others, four had stood around a fifth, watching his every movement as though escorting him. Naruto didn't know why though, the prisoner, if that was what he was, hadn't tried to escape.

They had moved through the house, Naruto caught flashes of them through the windows and watched with baited breath as they opened door after door, glad that he never used the front of the house, preferring to go straight through into the kitchen using the window. It was the best part of the house anyway, in his opinion. The kitchen was where the ramen had come from to begin with, and where he sometimes drank tea from. He didn't drink tea a lot though, only on special occasions. (Even so, he was going to run out of teabags soon.) Would they have noticed, he wondered, that there was hardly any dust? That the surfaces were wiped clear, the food that had sat decaying in the cupboards had been removed and a well washed mug sat on the counter? Probably, he reasoned, they were trained to, after all. Most evidence of his occupation was to be found upstairs, where he had claimed the smallest room as his own (the other rooms had been too empty) and filled it with a worn futon and empty ramen cups and anything he saw outside that he liked (like leaf skeletons and dandelion heads and the shiny metal forehead protector that someone must have lost) so he brought them in.

It was true that he'd come to think of the place as his home, except now, there was someone else in it. He might not have ever really learnt maths, but he wasn't a complete idiot. Six people had gone into the house, six people and a box. Five people had come out of the house; no box. The box was fine, the box Naruto could handle. In fact the box mildly interested him. Maybe there would be something in the box. Something interesting. A toy or a game maybe. There could be books. He could read, even if he wasn't very good. Maybe there would be something more interesting than the scrolls he'd found in the house, useless for anything but firewood, and even that he didn't do because it felt wrong enough to live in someone's house when they weren't there without starting to destroy their stuff. (The fact that no one came back to claim the house, that the house stood in a district devoid of people, and that there was a dark red stain on the floor of the dojo that Naruto only looked at once before leaving and locking the door had certainly occurred to him, and he had theories, but-)

The fact was that a box could be dealt with. A person could not.

Naruto had toyed with the idea of leaving the house. He could live in the forest again, it wasn't cold yet, and then when winter set in he could move on like he used to. Another village. He could maybe go to Sand, where it was always hot. Dust in your fur, he thought with an uncomfortable shiver. Maybe not sand.

But he decided not to, waiting in the tree as the sun slipped down the horizon and the stars bloomed one by one in the sky. He liked the house, liked it a lot. And maybe the person was going to leave anyway. And if they didn't, Naruto thought, stretching out on a branch and shifting until he felt comfortable, maybe the person wouldn't mind sharing. It had been a long time since he had someone to talk to, after all.

*

Naruto waited three days before venturing back to the house. He mainly spent it doing sword practice, chasing squirrels and watching the house from the safety of his tree. He hoped that he would see the stranger leave, but as the days trickled past he saw nothing which would suggest the house was inhabited. By the third day his human instincts started overriding his fox ones, the desire to have a hot shower instead of jumping in the nearby river, and to sleep on a futon instead of against the rough bark of a tree trunk made him reconsider his options. Perhaps the stranger had left in the end. Naruto could see the main entrance, as well as half of the house, true, but he could have left through a window. Or perhaps he had left while Naruto was sleeping, in the middle of the night.

More than this, it was starting to worry Naruto that he had left so many of his things in the house. Everything in his room, the one book he had, the small pile of teabags still left. What if the stranger didn't realise that Naruto had been saving the teabags? What if he drank them all without thinking, or worse, spilt water on them and ruined them. And what about the owner of the house? Their belongings were still there. Their clothes, a few ornaments, and even fewer photographs mounted in frames. It was sparse, but they belonged to the old family. Naruto sometimes liked to sit in front of the only family photograph he could find (if he was feeling too tired to feel nervous about being caught, despite knowing that no one was there) and imagine what the family must have been like.

It seemed like a nice family, Naruto thought. The mother had a kind smile and her eyes were full of Love. The father was stern certainly, but he would be the kind of person you could look up to. There were two sons which made Naruto's heart clench with longing, he'd always wanted a sibling. Haku had been many things, but never that. The brothers in the photograph were similar in appearance, although the younger retained a childlike aura that was nowhere apparent in his brother. There wasn't much that could be inferred from the photograph, they were standing facing the camera with obligatory smiles, but Naruto liked to imagine what it would be like to be a part of the family. To have a mother to wake him up in the morning and help tie bandages around his arm when he got hurt, because it was difficult to do with one hand, and even with all the practice he got, his was still sloppy. A father whose approval he would strive to gain, who would smile very slightly when he was pleased. An older brother to teach him to skim stones so that they skipped over the water instead of dropping straight down with a 'plop.' Naruto liked the youngest brother the best though. He and the youngest brother would be friends, he knew. Best friends, probably. They would play with each other tag, hide and seek. They'd fight too but never for long. There could be nothing better than having a family, Naruto thought. Sometimes he liked to pretend the family still lived there. That the youngest son had one day brought him home and they had liked him so much they adopted him. Or that they'd one day discovered that he was their own long lost son (never mind that he didn't look a thing like them, with his sunshine hair and bright blue eyes) and accept him into the family. When he entered the house he sometimes called out 'I'm home' and for a second, imagined that he heard his mother call back 'welcome home,' heard the murmur of conversation as his father spoke to his older brother in another room, and the shuffle of steps in the hallway as his brother ran to meet him. The silence never failed to disappoint him. The fact was the house was empty, it's inhabitants long gone. And just because he respected the house and it's past inhabitants, there was no reason to assume the stranger would do the same thing.

Still, regardless of his reasoning, it was with a little apprehension that Naruto eased the kitchen window open and slid inside, taking care to be discrete. He dropped into a crouch, ready to defend himself from any attack, but nothing came. All was quiet. Looking around the kitchen, nothing seemed out of place, except that it was a little more dusty than usual. Not that Naruto cleaned a lot, but he spent a lot of time in the kitchen, so it didn't get too dusty. Right now, the counters were covered in a thin layer of dust, almost invisible except in the right light. The only difference apart from that, as far as Naruto could tell, was the box. He recognised it from before, but it could easily have been another cardboard, non-descript box. It was sitting on the counter, next to the sink, looking extremely harmless. Throwing caution to the wind, Naruto decided that since it was in his house (it hadn't been his house before, because he had entered without asking, but now that someone else had entered it without asking him it made them the ones trespassing, and he the owner -sort of- of the house) and the box was sitting in his kitchen, he might as well open it.

Inside, to his delight, was food.

Nothing fancy, just the bare staples, but for someone who had made twenty teabags last for over three months, it was like a goldmine. Naruto unpacked each thing onto the counter, running his fingers over it in awe and thinking of how long he could survive on this without having to resort to the messier methods of food gathering. There were more teabags, as well as a jar of coffee which smelt nice but tasted terrible, rice, some tinned fish, some salted meat, crackers, nuts, dried fruit and a small slab of chocolate. Best of all, there were four cups of ramen, which had Naruto so excited that he forgot all about saving his new-found rations and making them last, and immediately went to put the kettle on. While the water heated up, he set about putting away his new treasures, putting them in the previously bare cupboards, and was so engrossed in the task he didn't notice the stranger's presence until he made himself known.

"What are you doing?"

Naruto spun around, clutching a pack of raisins to his chest, his eyes wide, internally berating himself for forgetting about the stranger. The stranger who stood in front of him with wet spiky hair and a murderous promise in his expression if Naruto answered wrongly. The blond gulped. What was apparent from this distance, that he hadn't noticed from his tree three days ago, was that the boy's eyes were sealed shut by a complex series of delicate symbols and characters drawn in black ink, from one temple to the other. It was bizarre to have someone looking at him with their eyes closed, but Naruto swallowed and forced himself to focus.

"I was just-" Naruto gestured to the box and the cupboard, not realising the futility of his movements since the boy couldn't see him. The lack of sight didn't seem to impede his understanding, however, from which Naruto deduced one thing- ninja.

"Putting the food away, I realised," the stranger replied curtly, his expression impossible to read. "I didn't think they would send me a maid." Naruto's confusion and slight fear, which had been spiralling wildly, causing him to clutch the raisins so tightly he was worried the pack would split, ground to a halt, to be replaced by indignation.

"_What_?" he screeched, glaring at the boy. "I'm not a _maid_!"

"Evidently," the stranger agreed with a slightly amused nod, although it was difficult to tell if the creasing around his shut eyes was due to amusement or irritation. "Which means you're a trespasser."

"_I'm_ a trespasser? _I_ live here! _You_ are the one who is trespassing! You'd better not have touched anything!" Naruto insisted, putting the raisins down finally, because otherwise he was going to throw them at the boy and it would be a waste of good food. The kettle, which had been steadily spitting out more and more steam whistled, and Naruto hesitated at the stranger who had yet to speak again, before hurrying to it and filling up his ramen. Maybe the stranger was scared, and would leave now, he thought, not without a tiny, unacknowledged edge of sadness, since as discourteous and abrupt as the conversation had been, it was the first one Naruto had had in a long time.

"You live here?" the stranger asked finally, with the first sound of unsurety that Naruto had heard so far.

"Yeah I do," Naruto boasted, puffing his chest up and holding his ramen protectively. The _what are you gonna do about it _remained unsaid. The stranger was still facing him, not speaking and it felt like he was glaring although with his eyes shut, there was no way for Naruto to tell. Instead he distracted himself with looking for a pair of chopsticks, which was the only downside of ramen, as far as he could tell because he was only ever able to find one pair, and he could never remember to leave them in the right place. He thought he had his focus divided between digging behind the pots for chopsticks and the stranger behind him, but either his skills were not as honed as he thought, or the boy was stronger than he suspected, because he didn't notice the boy had moved until he heard the tap running, and a clean pair of chopsticks were waved in front of his face.

"Thanks," he grunted suspiciously, more than a little confused, before snatching them and stirring his noodles. He watched as the stranger moved around the kitchen, opening cupboards and feeling the contents that Naruto had just packed away until he found the rice and began preparing some. Naruto ate his noodles uneasily, not appreciating the rush of salt and spices as his attention was fixed on the kitchen's other occupant, wondering how it was that he could move so easily, despite not seeing.

"You know, you could have just asked me to do that," he pointed out, slurping the last dregs of soup from the styrofoam cup and tossing it into the bin.

"How would I know if you were poisoning it?" the stranger replied monotonously.

"I suppose," Naruto granted. "But you could have just made ramen instead of rice. You haven't eaten in days right? You must be hungry."

"Ramen is junkfood," the boy answered, moving to strain the rice. Naruto huffed, indignant.

"Ramen is _amazing_, it's the most delicious food in the world!"

"It's trash. You may as well just inject sodium."

"Yeah, well, I didn't want to share with you anyway. There's only three cups left."

"Hn." The stranger didn't point out that the food had clearly been left for him, and not for Naruto.

There was silence again, except for the noise of Naruto fidgeting and the rice gently steaming.

"Are you going to leave after you eat?" Naruto asked half-hopefully.

"No," the raven replied flatly. "But you should."

"Why would I? I was here first," Naruto insisted, poking his tongue out.

"Because I live here now, and I don't want to share," the answer came darkly.

"Neither do I," Naruto scowled.

"Then leave," the other boy hissed.

"_Make me_," Naruto shot back, when the stranger made no move, Naruto smiled nastily. "You can't, can you? You're eyes are sealed, and most of your chakra. It's hard enough to move around without your eyes open, never mind beat me in a fight."

Before he had time to blink, a strong forearm was pressed against his throat and he was wedged between a warm body and the sharp edge of the counter.

﻿Make no mistake," the boy ground out. "True, the sealing has weakened me, but I'm still a thousand times more powerful than you or anyone else in this stupid village." Naruto stared for a second, before narrowing his eyes, and in a flash, reversing their positions so that the boy was pressing into the counter, Naruto at his back.

"And you make no mistake; ninja or not, there's no way you'd win against me," he whispered into the boys ear before an elbow in the gut made him stagger back. The stranger whirled round, legs tensed to spring and hand reaching for weapons he wasn't carrying, when he realised that Naruto was laughing.

He scowled, the skin between his eyebrows tightening as the blond boy staggered back, still snickering.

"What's so funny, idiot?"

"You- you smell like a _girl_," Naruto wheezed out, the short sentence triggering off another wave of laughter. "Like flowers or cherries or something, a goddam girl."

"I was showering your moron. At least I don't smell like something that's decomposing. You smell like an animal." This stopped Naruto's laughter abruptly, and his face twisted into a scowl.

"I'm _not_ an animal. I'm Naruto."

"I'm Sasuke. Uchiha Sasuke. This is my house now, and if you aren't gone by tomorrow, I'll throw you out myself," the stranger replied coldly, before turning to his food, signalling the conversation was closed.

"But-" started Naruto, before a chopstick flew past him, narrowly missing his face and embedded himself in the wall behind him. He whistled softly, the chopstick hadn't even been sharp, but it had managed to sink a good inch into the wall. He threw the stranger -Sasuke- an appraising look before leaving the kitchen.

"I know who you are," Naruto said, announcing his presence the next day as he walked into the bedroom where Sasuke was sitting on the bed, meditating apparently.

"I thought I told you to leave," Sasuke said tonelessly, his breathing even.

"You're the boy in the photograph," Naruto went on, ignoring Sasuke's remark and further ignoring the little inhalation that he made. "The younger one, although I suppose you're older now."

"Which photograph?"

"All of them," Naruto said with a shrug. "Or most of them at least. There aren't so many." He sauntered over to the window and looked out, stretching so the t-shirt he was wearing rose a little. Not that there was anyone to appreciate the view. "Are you going to make rice again for dinner?"

"It makes no difference to you, since you'll be gone by then," Sasuke replied curtly, standing with a fluidity that Naruto admired. There were few people he had ever seen move like that, and even fewer who could do it without looking.

"But you are the boy in the photographs," Naruto affirmed.

"What's it to you?" Sasuke asked angrily, before creasing his forehead making a noticeable attempt to calm down.

"Then this is your house afterall," Naruto pointed out, turning to lean against the cool of the windowsill and look about the room. It was plain, not the master bedroom, but roomy.

"Which is why you should _leave_."

"Your home which you abandoned," Naruto continued, acting as though he hadn't noticed the way Sasuke's shoulders stiffened at that, the way his face had gone blank which was more an indication of his emotions than anything else. "And which I have been taking care of."

"You've been squatting in, you mean."

Naruto waved the comment away with a flick of his wrist.

"It's clean isn't it? There's hardly any dust; for a house that's been empty for about a decade, it's in very good condition. Better than the rest in this district. While you were off doing who knows what, I was here, keeping your family home safe."

"What do you want?" Sasuke asked darkly, as though he didn't know what was coming.

"It's hard to find places to live when you're me," Naruto said, as though making polite conversation. "Most places that are abandoned are little more than shacks. Leaky roofs, paper thin walls, and often quite a lot of bats. I was lucky with this place. It's going to take me a while to find somewhere as good as this." He fixed his gaze on Sasuke. "What I want is time. Give me a month to find somewhere else to go."

"Fine," growled Sasuke brusquely after a moment. "But after that, I never want to see you again."

"That shouldn't be a problem," Naruto said with a laugh, leaving the bedroom. A month was definitely enough time.


	2. Chapter 2

The Boy In The Photograph

A/N: Sorry it took me a while to update, I've had exams. The rest will be faster. Thank you to everyone who commented. To anyone who didn't know, this is NARUSASU, as in, boyxboy. Please do not complain to me about that.

Acknowledgments: Beta'd by **frickative** who doesn't _watch_ Naruto but is amazing for reading through my stuff and being so supportive when I mess up on ridiculous things. Also thanks to **transient_words** who gave me some really really lovely feedback and made me brave enough to dip my toes into the pool of srs Naruto fanfic. The story is inspired by Soesy's Set In Stone which is what started the whole thing. It's a great story, check it out :). Aside from the mentioned, I've drawn inspiration from countless, countless other fic that I've read.

Disclaimer: This story is five percent me, twenty percent my beta and seventy five percent all the stories I have read, fanfiction and originalfic alike. I take no credit.

Summary: Naruto knew it wasn't his house, of course. He just hadn't thought anyone would be back to claim it.  
Genre: Humour, Romance, Angst, General  
Wordcount: ~4000/20,000  
Part 2/5

Naruto gave Sasuke two days of space, which he thought was a good amount of time. One day might be too short, and any longer and Sasuke might forget about him. Naruto really didn't want that to happen. Sasuke was special. He wasn't sure how, or why but he was. He was the first person Naruto had spoken to in a long long time, and he was his sometimes brother from the photograph, and even if Sasuke didn't know it, they were going to be friends.

On the third day when Sasuke was going through katas in the training ground behind the house, Naruto brought him out a drink and sat watching on the fence until he finished and then called out.

"Hey Sasuke, want a drink?" Sasuke looked as though he was considering ignoring him, which Naruto thought was extremely rude of him considering Naruto had been very polite and called him 'Sasuke' not 'Moody-face.' But then, Sasuke clearly didn't know that they were going to be friends, so Naruto couldn't blame him that much. "Come on, it's nice and cold." He waved the glass, even though Sasuke couldn't see it. It was only water really, but he'd got a clean glass and even remembered to fill the ice tray the night before. That was impressive really, given he'd never filled an ice tray in his life. With a sigh that Naruto almost didn't hear, Sasuke sat down and took the drink from him. Without saying thank you, Naruto noted, but then he never cared much about manners anyway.

"So you were training hard today?" Naruto said casually, leaning back on his hands and sipping at his own water. Sasuke said nothing, just wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. "You must be tired." Sasuke took another gulp of water. "You seem pretty good though," Naruto added, his smile turning vulpine. "Maybe we could spar sometime." Sasuke finished his water and stood up. "What do you think?" Naruto asked, ignoring the hints and standing up too.

"Don't you have houses to be looking for?" Sasuke asked finally, not facing Naruto who shrugged.

"Maybe I was looking for houses for the past two days and wanted to take a break today."

Sasuke exhaled. "And were you?"

Naruto smiled again. "Nope."

"You're lucky I don't force you to leave now," Sasuke grumbled as they walked towards the house. Naruto was tempted to sling an arm around Sasuke's shoulders like he'd seen other boys do. Like he imagined brothers would. He didn't think Sasuke would like that though.

"You wont," he replied cheerily. "Not that you could."

"You seem very sure of your skill," Sasuke said, throwing a sightless glance at his companion.

"No more than you," Naruto replied as they reached the house. Sasuke frowned impatiently.

"But I'm a ninja," he enunciated, as though Naruto was stupid. In reply, Naruto mustered the biggest shit-eating grin he could manage.

"And _I'm_ a demon," he replied easily before slipping into the house before Sasuke could say another word.

Sasuke found him two hours later, hunting a rabbit. Naruto only had a few kunai and sharpening them took time, so he had planned to just jump on the rabbit and snap its throat. Of course that wasn't the preferred way of hunting; kyuubi might like it, but it was messy and Naruto couldn't just lick his fur clean afterwards, so he was pleased when a sebon hit the rabbit, spearing it to a tree and killing it instantly.

"Thanks," he called to Sasuke before claiming his prize. Pulling the rabbit off the tree, he realised that it wasn't a sebon that had been used, but a chopstick. He held it up for Sasuke to see. "What the hell?" Obviously, Sasuke couldn't see what Naruto was holding, but he must have had a general idea, as he shrugged.

"I don't have any kunai."

"Oh," said Naruto. It was true that there were none in the house, probably stolen or removed long before Naruto had moved in, but- "What about the vaults?" If Sasuke was surprised that Naruto knew about the vaults he didn't say anything. Naruto had never managed to get inside them, hadn't tried too hard really, but he assumed that Sasuke, as the owner of the house, would be able to open them with ease.

"The vaults are sealed. You need enough of the right sort of chakra to open them," Sasuke said, and Naruto nodded in understanding.

"I get it. And you don't have enough chakra. That sucks." Sasuke just grunted in response and gestured to the rabbit.

"What's that for?"

"Dinner!" Naruto announced happily, holding the rabbit like a prize.

"You're not going to just have ramen again?" Sasuke queried, his display of interest causing inner Naruto to punch the air.

"Nah, I'd love to of course, but I want to make the ramen last!"

"You can't just buy more?"

"With what money?" The casual question made Naruto scowl, his fist tightening around the rabbit, fingers digging into soft fur.

"Ah, I suppose someone who can't afford to pay rent and has to squat probably doesn't have enough money to spare. You don't resort to stealing then?" Sasuke's tone was soft and disinterested, but Naruto heard the accusation.

"I'm not a thief," he retorted hotly, adding the not unless I have to be in his head. Stealing bread when he was starving and there was no wildlife for miles didn't make him a thief. Stealing one or two kunai out of a dozen so he could hunt his own food didn't count either. Nor did stealing stealing peaches when Haku was sick and asking for them and there was no money. The conversation had shifted into dangerous territory so Naruto squared his shoulders and changed the topic.

"So Sasuke, why don't you like ramen?" Sasuke glanced at him once, as if in irritated confusion, and then ignored him. "Hey, bastard, I'm talking to you." Nothing. "Arg, you're such a jerk," Naruto burst out. Why did his best friend to be have to be so difficult about everything? "Do you think you're too good to talk to me or something?" Sasuke snorted.

"I think I'm too good to waste my breath talking about ramen." Naruto's eyes lit up at the reply, even though his scowl deepened. He was about to start yelling, but then thought better of it, seeing as Sasuke was talking at least. He took a deep breath and let it out. "Fine, what do you want to talk about?"

Sasuke seemed to consider this for a moment, and they walked in silence, nearing the house. It was dusk, the end of another day. The fifth day after he had learnt Sasuke's name.

"You said you were a demon before," Sasuke started. Naruto was surprised by the about turn in conversation, but thought he probably shouldn't have been. Sasuke had a habit of surprising him.

"Yup, I did," he replied as they reached the back door and entered, taking the narrow hallways straight to the kitchen.

"What did you mean?"

Naruto put on a sardonic smile. "I'm sure you know what a demon is, Sasuke."

"That's true," Sasuke allowed with a dip of his head. "But nothing I know about demons would make me think you were one."

"Maybe that's 'cause you don't know anything about me," Naruto suggested, his tone light though he kept his back to Sasuke as he looked for a knife to skin the rabbit.

"Maybe," Sasuke agreed. "So tell me."

"No," Naruto replied curtly. Friends might confide in each other, but he wouldn't be backed into a corner like this.

"Why not?"

"Why would you want to know?" Naruto shot back, glancing over his shoulder to where Sasuke was measuring rice into a pot. "Why do you care?"

"If you're going to be living here for the next month, I deserve to know what sort of a person you are."

"You can't tell from what you see?" Naruto asked. Sasuke made a noise that might have been a laugh.

"I don't see anything," he said tonelessly, moving to the sink and washing the rice, pushing Naruto to the side a little to make room. Naruto watched sullenly as the water sloshed into the pot and a few rice granules floated on the surface, making patterns. "Tell me." Naruto sighed and put down the rabbit, looking out through the kitchen window as the sun slunk behind the horizon. Sasuke looked nice at sunset, he thought. The sharp light outlined the harsh angles in his face making him look both strong and delicate at the same time.

"A demon," he began roughly. "Is something that has no concept of right and wrong. Is something that is hated and feared everywhere it goes, and destroys everything it touches." There was silence for a few moments, while the last sunbeam disappeared from sight, leaving them in soft darkness. Naruto wondered, belatedly, if he had said too much.

"That's not everything, is it?" Sasuke asked, suddenly standing a lot closer than he had been before.

"No," Naruto muttered. "But it's as much as I'm gonna say." For now. Sasuke nodded, the ends of his hair tickling Naruto's face with the movement, and then he stepped back towards the sink and continued calmly washing the rice. For a second, Naruto felt disappointed; then he realised he was letting himself look like an idiot in front of Sasuke, and no way in hell was he going to let himself be shown up by the jerk, so he turned back to his rabbit and focused his energies into preparing dinner.

This friendship thing, it was a lot more complicated than he had thought it would be.

*  
"What are we having for dinner tonight?" Naruto asked idly the next day as Sasuke sat meditating in his bedroom. Meditating and training took up a lot of Sasuke's time, Naruto found. Training was sort of fun, he supposed, but not the way Sasuke did it, moving through training patterns on his own and throwing chopstick after chopstick into the centre of the target. Naruto much preferred training _with_ someone and had offered his services plenty of times, all of which were ignored by Sasuke. As for meditation, Naruto had never managed to do it without falling asleep and waking up to find Zabuza laughing at him, while even Haku hid a smile.

"If you mean what am _I_ having for dinner tonight, it's nothing to do with you," Sasuke said, without moving from his position. Naruto tilted his head slightly and considered how spiky Sasuke's hair was. Naruto's own blond locks tended to stick up, but not in the way Sasuke's defied gravity. He'd have to ask him about it sometime.

"But what _ is_ there to eat anyway? There's enough rice, but nothing else."

"Go hunt a rabbit then. Take your time. Get a whole family of them."

"I don't _want_ rabbit," Naruto said exasperatedly, flopping back from his sitting position so that he was staring at the ceiling. "I'm _always_ eating rabbit. I want something new." He didn't mention that he didn't want to eat rabbit more than necessary because Haku used to keep a white rabbit as a pet, even if Zabuza insisted it was just to be used in a replacement technique. Haku hadn't cried when the rabbit had died, its soft body pierced by a kunai that was meant for them. He understood that the rabbit had served its purpose and as such shouldn't be mourned. Naruto had understood that too, but he had still cried. He paused and sat back up, looking at Sasuke who shifted slightly under the scrutiny. "Why don't you go and buy something?"

"I'm fine with the rice."

"How can you be fine with rice on its own?!"

"I don't want to go shopping."

"You'd rather hang around here and meditate then?" Naruto scoffed. "Or maybe it's my wonderful company, you don't want to leave me for a second, right?"

"I don't want to go shopping, because I don't want to parade myself like an exhibit," Sasuke said stiffly, still trying to keep up the meditation, although there was no way he was attaining inner peace from the twitch on his forehead.

"You mean because of your eyes?" Naruto said bluntly. He took the silence as a positive answer. "I don't see what difference it makes, you get around fine."

Sasuke sighed, apparently sick of trying to meditate while Naruto bothered him, because he reached for his shirt and started to put it on.

"I'm fine _here_ you idiot, because I know this house and there's hardly anything to keep track of except _you _and since you're always so unfailingly loud, it's not exactly a challenge. The marketplace would be different."

"Oh. Then what are you going to do? Starve?" Naruto watched as Sasuke's shirt covered up an interesting looking tattoo on his shoulder. "Or are those people who left the food the first time going to come again?"

"Hardly," Sasuke scoffed, getting off the bed and stretching. (Naruto didn't stare.) "They don't care if I don't eat."

"So how are we going to get more food?" Naruto asked, his voice almost whiny.

"If you care so much, why don't_ you_ buy something?" Sasuke snapped, leaving the room with Naruto trailing behind him. The blond gave him a fond sigh.

"We've already been through this, I don't have any money."

"I'll give you some money."

Naruto stopped and stared.

"Really?!" Naruto jumped on Sasuke, giving him a tight hug before he was angrily shrugged off.

"Yes. You can consider it payment for leaving me alone for a few hours."

"You _say_ that Sasuke, but I know you don't mean it. In fact," Naruto tapped a finger thoughtfully against his chin. "I think you _need_ me to do this really. You should give me an extra week." A vein in Sasuke's right temple began to beat erratically and Sasuke could see how tight the other boy's jaw was clenched. Maybe he shouldn't have pushed for the extra week. He opened his mouth to speak when he was cut off.

"Fine," agreed Sasuke gruffly as they reached the kitchen. He grabbed his wallet and pulled out a few notes, before handing them to Naruto.

"Go. Now. Get vegetables, meat, fish and milk. No ramen."

"Awww, that's _boring_," Naruto whined.

"It's my money. You should consider yourself lucky I'm letting you use it at all."

"It's not like you have a choice," Naruto pointed out, pocketing the money into the black and orange trousers he was wearing before adding casually. "And I'm going to need a henge."

"Why?" asked Sasuke, folding his arms.

"Because! I stand out! I attract unwanted attention!" Naruto said, putting his hands on his hips. Sasuke pursed his lips, reading between the lines.

"Don't tell me I'm housing a fugitive," he said after a few seconds. Naruto coloured.

"Not a fugitive exactly," he said, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. "It just would be unhelpful if anyone that was looking for me saw me."

"And why would anyone be looking for you?" Sasuke asked flatly.

"Look," said Naruto getting angry. "Either give me the henge or you can settle down to a nice dinner of rice with rice and a side dish of rice for the next week, until we run out of rice, and have to resort to hunting rodents again. I'm not going to clean the blood out of the sink next time!"

Five minutes later, a boy with short black hair and brown eyes sauntered out of the Uchiha compound and walked towards the marketplace, whistling all the way.

Nine days after Naruto met Sasuke he thought he was doing well. True, they hadn't quite reached the hugging and divulging their deepest secrets part of their friendship, but he could tell that Sasuke was growing used to him, maybe even starting to like him. And he was getting to know Sasuke too. He understood that when Sasuke's face went blank, it meant he was really angry or upset. When the first two fingers of his left hand twitched it meant he was about to reach for one of the chopsticks he kept on his person. Naruto had also learnt that despite Sasuke's apparent handicap, his aim was dead on. Sasuke's more positive attitude towards him made Naruto happy since Sasuke no longer got angry when Naruto asked inane questions while he was trying to meditate. Instead he just scowled and called him an idiot a lot, which Naruto recognised as 'tough love.' Sasuke also no longer asked Naruto why he wasn't looking for somewhere else to live when he found the boy rolling marbles along the hallway or asleep in his favourite tree outside, although he had yet to stop threatening to throw Naruto out everytime Naruto did something that upset him, like drop one of the plates so that it smashed all over the floor, or eat the last tomato. Yes, Naruto thought he was doing well in most aspects, except for one. Sasuke still wouldn't touch him.

Not that Naruto wanted to be touched, per se, but he knew that best friends should be comfortable in each other's space. Apart from the time in the kitchen where Naruto had been skinning the rabbit, and the first day when they had fought, Sasuke stayed well away from him, shrugging off any contact Naruto instigated and going as far as growling when Naruto came too close. _Like a fox when its territory was invaded,_ Naruto thought. Whatever the reason, Sasuke's blindness, some sort of childhood trauma (Naruto refused to entertain the notion that Sasuke might just not like him) Naruto was going to deal with it.

Fortunately, the ninth day after Naruto met Sasuke was the perfect day to put his plan into action. It was cold, first of all, surprisingly cold for the time of year, and wet as well. Factoring in the fact that the Uchiha house had no form of heating, Naruto felt he had reason to hope he would have all his limbs in the morning when that night, holding his pillow and blanket in his arms, he slid open the door to Sasuke's bedroom. Earlier that day, while Sasuke was out training Naruto had measured that there were four steps, from the doorway to the bed. He managed one and a half before he was detected.

"What are you doing?" Sasuke's voice was so heavy with suspicion and accusation that Naruto was surprised he could get it out at all. He froze, before lowering his foot which had been raised midstep. _Busted_.

"I'm cold," he said bluntly, taking a step. Just one left.

"Then set yourself on fire," said Sasuke curtly. He didn't sound like someone who had been sleeping. "If I wasn't sealed I'd do it for you."

"C'mon Sasuke..." Naruto coaxed, taking one more step so that his shins were pressed against the bed. "You must be cold too."

"I'm fine," Sasuke snapped, ignoring the fact that he was shivering slightly. "You can't stay here, go back to your room."

"What if you get sick?" Naruto reasoned, hesitantly raising one knee onto the bed and leaning forward so that his weight was on his hands. The bed dipped slightly, but didn't creak. It was dark in the room, even the curtains were drawn so he couldn't see Sasuke's expression, only a Sasuke shaped outline that was a bit darker than the rest of the room. It wasn't helpful for reading body language at all. Naruto wished it was light, he needed to know if this was the point he should back off to a safe distance if he valued the way his bones were arranged. But he was here now, he might as well push. And if nothing else, he healed fast. "If you get sick you'll have to go into the village."

"I'll be fine," Sasuke snapped. "Stop that," he added as Naruto put another knee on the bed.

"What if_ I_ get sick and die?" Naruto continued, inching his way up the bed. "You'll have to bury me and it'll be a massive hassle."

"You're not going to die, idiot," Sasuke growled.

"I feel very weak and cold and shivery," Naruto confided matter of factly, putting down his pillow next to Sasuke, glad his housemate had chosen a room with a double bed.

"We're not doing this," Sasuke said sternly, as Naruto slipped under the blanket and laid his own on top.

"Yes we are," Naruto informed him calmly, giving a little stretch before letting his head fall back onto the pillow. Sasuke stayed sitting up for a few seconds, in which Naruto truly feared that he was going to get a chopstick through the eye, but either Sasuke really couldn't be bothered with the hassle of burying his murdered housemate, or he was warming up to Naruto, because after a few moments he too lay down. Naruto liked to think it was the latter.

"First thing tomorrow, you had better buy a heater," Sasuke warned, pulling the blanket up.

After about five minutes of sharing body heat, which Naruto thought was a much better way to sleep than most, he chanced sneaking an arm around Sasuke's waist. He got elbowed in the gut after which Sasuke tried to smother him with the pillow for five minutes or so. When the ninja had finally calmed down, Naruto settled for counting to a hundred in his head, and then shuffling a little closer and listening to his breaths even out.

The next morning Sasuke neglected to leave any money for Naruto to buy a heater with, which Naruto took as a sign as him wanting to continue their sleeping arrangement. This was further supported by the fact that the elbow in his gut that he got when he snuck back in to Sasuke's bed that night wasn't half as hard as it could have been, and there was no attempt at asphyxiation. He supposed that even anti-social bastards didn't like sleeping alone.

Naruto found that he slept better in Sasuke's bed than he did in his own. Of course years of sleeping with one eye open weren't negated by a warm body to curl up next to, but being easily woken had its advantages too. For one thing it taught him that Sasuke often jolted himself awake at night, breathing heavily and looking wildly around the room before realising his eyes were sealed shut. What was even more surprising than this, was aside from nightmares, Sasuke hardly ever woke up like Naruto did, when a tree branch scrapped against the window, or an owl hooted a little too loudly. This simultaneously amused and worried Naruto, since an intruder could get in and Sasuke wouldn't notice if he was asleep. Hell, Naruto could decide to prove himself as a demon and draw a kunai to his throat and Sasuke would sleep on. It was at odds with what Naruto already knew about his housemate as a ninja; having his chakra sealed shouldn't have any effect on his sleeping patterns. Perhaps it was his growing trust in Naruto that allowed him to sleep with such abandon, but a part of the blond feared that it was simply that Sasuke didn't care whether or not he was killed as he slept- that he had nothing left to live for.


	3. Chapter 3

The Boy In The Photograph

A/N:: Thank you for the comments. I hope you will enjoy this chapter. I know I did.

Acknowledgments: Beta'd by **frickative** who doesn't _watch_ Naruto but is amazing for reading through my stuff and being so supportive when I mess up on ridiculous things. Also thanks to **transient_words** who gave me some really really lovely feedback and made me brave enough to dip my toes into the pool of srs Naruto fanfic. The story is inspired by Soesy's Set In Stone which is what started the whole thing. It's a great story, check it out :). Aside from the mentioned, I've drawn inspiration from countless, countless other fic that I've read.

Disclaimer: This story is five percent me, twenty percent my beta and seventy five percent all the stories I have read, fanfiction and originalfic alike. I take no credit.

Summary: Naruto knew it wasn't his house, of course. He just hadn't thought anyone would be back to claim it.  
Genre: Humour, Romance, Angst, General  
Wordcount: ~4000/20,000  
Part 3/5

"Hey Sasuke,‭ ‬what do you,‭ ‬you know,‭ ‬do‭?" ‬Naruto asked.

‭"‬You should know,‭" ‬Sasuke grunted.‭ "‬You spend enough time following me around.

They were in the kitchen,‭ ‬doing the washing up after eating a dinner of ramen‭ (‬for Naruto‭; ‬ramen was appearing more and more on the menu now that the blond did the shopping‭) ‬and onigiri with grilled fish‭ (‬for Sasuke,‭ ‬who refused point blank to eat anything out of a styrofoam cup.‭) ‬Sasuke was at the sink,‭ ‬since apparently Naruto couldn't rinse well enough and made everyone's food taste like soap.‭ ‬When Sasuke had calmly raised this point‭ ("‬Can't you do one goddamn thing right‭!?") ‬Naruto had equally calmly replied that they should forgo the soaping altogether‭ ("‬What's the fucking‭ _‬point_‭?") ‬after which Naruto was permanently deputed to drying.

‭"‬Not like‭ ‬that,‭ ‬bastard,‭" ‬Naruto added for good measure.‭ "‬I mean,‭ ‬you eat,‭ ‬you sleep,‭ ‬you train,‭ ‬you meditate,‭ ‬you go for walks and you explore the house.‭ _‬Boring_.‭ ‬I mean what do you do for a job‭?" ‬He tilted his head slightly,‭ ‬blue eyes curious.

‭"‬I'm a‭ ‬ninja,‭ ‬as I previously explained.‭"

"Yeah,‭ ‬you keep saying.‭ ‬Then how come you never go on any missions‭?" ‬Naruto asked,‭ ‬his eyes screwed up in confusion.‭ "‬I mean that's how it works,‭ ‬right‭? ‬Ninjas go on missions for the village,‭ ‬like some rich hag pays through her ass to have you find her cat.‭ ‬So how come all you do is sulk around the house‭?"

"I'm a prisoner,‭ ‬in case you didn't notice,‭" ‬Sasuke pointed out,‭ ‬slipping a plate out of the water and passing it on to Naruto.

‭"‬Yeah,‭ ‬but what the hell kind of prisoner‭ _‬are_ you‭?" ‬Naruto asked,‭ ‬waving his arms to express his point and nearly dropping the plate.‭ "‬I mean,‭ ‬there's no one watching you‭! ‬All they've done is sealed your chakra and taken away your weapons.‭ ‬If you wanted to leave,‭ ‬you could do it easy‭!"

Sasuke was quiet for a moment,‭ ‬even his movements in the water were so graceful as to cause scarcely a ripple.

‭"‬You noticed when you moved in that the village was in disorder‭?" ‬Sasuke started.‭ ‬Naruto nodded.

‭"‬Yeah yeah,‭ ‬a few months back,‭ ‬they sme-‭ ‬They seemed really wound up.‭ ‬But they didn't bother me over there,‭ ‬so I didn't bother them.‭"

"Well,‭ ‬it's difficult to explain,‭ ‬but there's been a lot of..‭ ‬problems in the village,‭ ‬recently.‭ ‬Several attacks,‭ ‬some shifting in power,‭ ‬a miniature war,‭ ‬you could say.‭"

"Eeeh‭? ‬A war‭? ‬I didn't notice‭!" ‬Naruto exclaimed.‭ ‬Sasuke tutted.

‭"‬You aren't the most observant,‭" ‬he pointed out.‭ "‬It's still going on‭; ‬not the actual fighting,‭ ‬but a lot of behind the scenes manoeuvring,‭ ‬politics and such.‭"

"Politics,‭ ‬I never understood‭ '‬em,‭" ‬Naruto said,‭ ‬piling the plates up and moving them to the other side of the kitchen.‭ "‬What's your point‭?"

"My point,‭" ‬Sasuke said through gritted teeth.‭ "‬Is that they have enough to worry about without paying attention to me.‭ ‬Frankly they don't care if I go or stay,‭ ‬nor do they have manpower to keep me here.‭"

"Arrogant bastard,‭" ‬Naruto muttered,‭ ‬opening a cupboard door.‭ "‬So if you're not working,‭ ‬why don't you spend your time doing something more..I dunno,‭ _‬fun_‭?"

"Fun‭?" ‬Sasuke sneered.

‭"‬Don't be a jerk,‭" ‬Naruto snapped,‭ ‬elbowing him before cooling off a little.‭"‬I just mean,‭ ‬don't you have any aims in your life‭? ‬Don't you have any dreams‭?" ‬Sasuke's expression which had been a smile that flirted with the border between irritated and amused went blank.

‭"‬That's a rather‭ _‬intimate‭_ ‬question,‭ ‬don't you think‭?" ‬he asked carefully,‭ ‬leaning back against the counter as Naruto put the cutlery away.

‭"‬So that's a yes‭?"

"In a way.‭" ‬Naruto glared,‭ ‬getting impatient.‭

"And‭? ‬What are they‭?" ‬he asked frustratedly.‭ ‬Sasuke grinned cooly,‭ ‬a challenging look on his face.

‭"‬I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours.‭"

Instantly Naruto felt the muscles in his back and shoulders tense up and he forced himself to relax,‭ ‬putting a fake smile on that Sasuke couldn't see.

‭"‬I didn't think you were interested in my life,‭" ‬he said carefully,‭ ‬blunt nails tracing patterns onto the work surface.‭ ‬It was dark blue.‭ ‬The colour of the night sky.

‭"‬Maybe I am,‭ ‬maybe not.‭ ‬It doesn't matter if you're scared,‭" ‬Sasuke said lightly,‭ ‬scratching at his chin with his thumbnail.‭

"I'm not scared‭!" ‬Naruto immediately retorted without thinking,‭ ‬then scowled when he realised he was being baited.‭ "‬What d'ya wanna know‭?" ‬Sasuke considered him quietly,‭ ‬the second hand on the clock sounding oddly loud in the quiet of the kitchen.‭ ‬Naruto fidgeted with his top,‭ ‬put his hands in his pocket and then took them out again,‭ ‬laying them on the counter where they jumped nervously.

‭"‬What's your dream‭?" ‬Sasuke asked finally,‭ ‬softly.‭ ‬Naruto glared for a minute,‭ ‬then sighed,‭ ‬looking away.‭ ‬It should have been easier to talk without another pair of eyes to look into,‭ ‬but somehow it wasn't.

‭"‬I wanna protect the people I care about,‭" ‬he mumbled quietly.‭ _‬This time,‭ ‬I'll do it‭_‬.‭ ‬Sasuke didn't say anything immediately,‭ ‬just kept facing Naruto,‭ ‬his expression blank,‭ ‬until Naruto started to get nervous again.

‭"‬Well say something instead of just standing there‭!" ‬he almost shouted,‭ ‬swallowing hard.‭

"That doesn't sound like the dream of a demon,‭" ‬Sasuke commented quietly.‭ ‬Naruto looked up at him with something like despair in his eyes.

‭"‬I don't want to be a monster,‭" ‬he whispered,‭ ‬one hand rubbing at a his stomach.‭ ‬He took a deep breath and let it out,‭ ‬allowing the air to give him courage.‭ "‬Now you,‭" ‬he said,‭ ‬jerking his chin in Sasuke's direction.

‭"‬Me,‭" ‬answered Sasuke,‭ ‬almost absently,‭ ‬as though he was deep in thought,‭ ‬before focusing.‭ "‬I wouldn't call it a‭ '‬dream,‭' ‬more an aim or an ambition.‭ ‬I wanted to kill my brother,‭ ‬and to avenge my family.‭" ‬Naruto sucked in a breath.

‭"'‬Wanted‭'"?

"Yes.‭ ‬It's done now,‭" ‬Sasuke confirmed,‭ ‬his voice low.‭ "‬Does that make me a demon‭?" ‬he asked,‭ ‬colouring his tone with bitter amusement.

‭"‬Wha-‭ ‬No‭!" ‬Naruto said,‭ ‬jolted out of his musings and running a hand through his hair.‭ "‬Of course not,‭" ‬he added more softly.

Neither boy spoke for a moment,‭ ‬digesting what had been revealed and acknowledged.‭ ‬Naruto tapped the toe of one foot against the ground and rubbed the back of his head,‭ ‬the noise of the movements causing Sasuke to frown.

‭"‬What is it‭?" ‬he asked curtly.‭ ‬Naruto opened his mouth once and then closed it again,‭ ‬before find the right words.

‭"‬It's just that..‭ ‬If ki-‭ ‬If doing what you did,‭ ‬fulfilled your ambitions..‭" ‬he glanced up at Sasuke,‭ ‬trying to gauge his reaction but saw nothing and quickly looked down again.‭ "‬Then why aren't you happy‭?"

"I don't seem happy‭?" ‬Sasuke's voice was hollow.

‭"‬No,‭" ‬Naruto answered more firmly.‭ "‬Not really.‭" ‬Sasuke let out a long breath,‭ ‬as though he'd been holding it in.‭ "‬Why is that‭?"

"There were a lot of reasons for what I did,‭ ‬Naruto,‭" ‬Sasuke said,‭ ‬the name rolling off his tongue.‭ "‬For honour,‭ ‬for justice.‭ ‬So that I could face my family's graveyard without shame.‭ ‬So that I could finally sever the tie between my brother and I.‭" ‬Sasuke paused as if considering something,‭ ‬and then let out a short,‭ ‬acrid little laugh.‭ "‬It was never to make myself happy.‭" ‬Naruto just stared,‭ ‬horror and pity equal in his expression.‭ "‬So tell me Naruto,‭ ‬which of us is the real monster‭?"

Not that Naruto would ever admit it,‭ ‬not to himself and even less to someone else,‭ ‬but he felt relief when Sasuke left the room first,‭ ‬because he couldn't think of a single answer to that question that would be the truth.

‭*

Naruto was standing at the top of a snow covered hill.‭ ‬The sun looked like a smiling fox with it's tail touching it's nose,‭ ‬and from that Naruto deduced he was in a dream.‭ ‬It was a nice dream‭; ‬the snow was very deep and the fox-sun was warm.‭

"Go on,‭" ‬said the fox-sun grinning and showing all its teeth.‭ "‬Roll.‭"

Naruto felt a little push against his back,‭ ‬and then found himself rolling down the hill,‭ ‬over and over.‭ ‬As he rolled he picked up snow,‭ ‬becoming like a human snowman,‭ ‬growing in size as he reached the bottom.‭ ‬But he didn't mind,‭ ‬because the snow wasn't cold and wet,‭ ‬it was warm and soft,‭ ‬like cotton wool.‭ ‬By the time he reached the bottom he was completely encased in the snow cocoon,‭ ‬except for his face,‭ ‬which peeked out at the top.‭ ‬It was so warm and comfortable that thought he might go to sleep.‭ ‬Rolling himself so that he faced the sky,‭ ‬he opened his mouth to tell the sun-fox he was going to sleep,‭ ‬only to find the fox was gone,‭ ‬and it was night.‭ ‬As soon as he noticed that,‭ ‬he realised he was quite cold,‭ ‬and snuggled deeper into his cocoon.

‭"‬Oh well.‭ ‬It's dark so I had better sleep,‭" ‬he reasoned out loud,‭ ‬before closing his eyes.‭ ‬To his irritation,‭ ‬he found that there was something tickling his nose.‭ ‬Upon opening his eyes again,‭ ‬he saw a butterfly had perched on the end of his nose and was fluttering it's wings across his cheeks.‭ "‬Stop that,‭" ‬he said crossly.‭ "‬Butterflies aren't even supposed to fly at night.‭ ‬You'll get trapped in a flower and then the fox-sun will eat you.‭"

"Wake‭ ‬up,‭ ‬idiot,‭" ‬said the butterfly.‭

'Huh,‭" ‬thought Naruto.‭ '‬That butterfly can talk‭! ‬And it insulted me‭!' ‬Then it occurred to Naruto that the butterfly didn't have a mouth,‭ ‬and that the voice had sounded an awful lot like-

Naruto opened his eyes to find Sasuke's closed ones millimetres from his face.

‭"‬Augwa‭!" ‬he shrieked,‭ ‬trying to move back and finding his limbs trapped in an intricate entanglement of sheets,‭ ‬so that his flailing only caused him to fall backwards out of the bed.‭ "‬Oooowwwie,‭" ‬he moaned,‭ ‬sitting up and rubbing the back of his head before glaring up at Sasuke who was still kneeling on the bed.‭ "‬What'd you do that for,‭ ‬bastard‭?" ‬he asked angrily.

‭"‬Hn,‭ ‬idiot,‭" ‬Sasuke said,‭ ‬after considering him for a second.‭ "‬You have to leave.‭"

"What‭?!" ‬shouted Naruto,‭ ‬jumping to his feet only to have a sheet that wound around his right ankle pull him back down.‭ "‬Oooww...‭" ‬he said again,‭ ‬sitting up carefully,‭ ‬then shooting his gaze back to Sasuke.‭ "‬What d'ya mean I have to leave‭? ‬I've still got nineteen days left‭!"

Sasuke looked at him blankly.

‭"‬Not‭ _‬that‭_‬.‭ ‬I mean you have to get lost for a while.‭ ‬They're sending someone to check up on me.‭"

"Oh,‭" ‬said Naruto,‭ ‬finally freeing himself from the sheets and standing up.‭ "‬Can't I just stay in here‭? ‬They'll probably just stay in the entrance or something.‭ ‬They hate this place,‭ ‬gives‭ '‬em the heebie jeebies.‭"

"How do you-‭ ‬Never mind,‭" ‬said Sasuke briskly,‭ ‬walking around the bed to remake it.‭ "‬You still have to leave,‭ ‬they'll sense your chakra,‭ ‬dumbass.‭"

Naruto glared at the back of Sasuke's head as the dark haired boy pulled the sheets straight and retrieved a pillow from the floor.

‭"‬And you think I can't mask my chakra‭?" ‬he asked angrily,‭ ‬hands on his hips,‭ ‬ignoring the way his hair was sticking up on end,‭ ‬there was a line of drool from the right hand corner of his mouth,‭ ‬and he was wearing nothing but bright orange boxers with swirls on them.‭ ‬Sasuke snorted,‭ ‬smoothing the pillow.

‭"‬Che,‭ ‬your chakra fluctuates all the time,‭ ‬dependent on a tiny change in mood.‭ ‬A guaranteed sign of poor control.‭" ‬Naruto scowled,‭ ‬his mouth twisted up as he took in the smug expression on the Uchiha's face,‭ ‬and then,‭ ‬just like that,‭ ‬he disappeared.

Sasuke stood very still,‭ ‬taking in the rush of air that had accompanied Naruto's movements,‭ ‬and then slowly rotating.‭ ‬There was no denying it,‭ ‬he couldn't feel Naruto's chakra at all,‭ ‬couldn't even hear him,‭ ‬and yet he still felt like he was in the room.‭

"Naruto‭?" ‬he called out tentatively.

‭"‬What's wrong,‭ ‬bastard‭? ‬My‭ '‬poor control‭' ‬too good for you‭? ‬Can't work out where I am‭?" ‬Naruto's voice came from near the window,‭ ‬but Sasuke couldn't sense anything there at all.‭

"Alright,‭ ‬you proved your point,‭ ‬drop it,‭" ‬Sasuke said,‭ ‬trying to keep his tone flat.

‭"‬No it's fine,‭" ‬Naruto said sarcastically.‭ "‬I'll keep out of your way.‭ ‬Maybe the people coming to check up on you have better senses.‭" ‬Having released the camouflage,‭ ‬Naruto stuck his tongue out at Sasuke,‭ ‬before moving to the window,‭ ‬sliding it open and slipping out.

‭*

Twenty minutes later found Naruto stomping angrily through the woods.‭ ‬He was angry at Sasuke for underestimating him.‭ ‬He was also angry at himself for storming out without putting on more clothes.

‭"‬Stupid Sasuke,‭" ‬he muttered to himself,‭ ‬standing in a grassy clearing and staring up at the trees.‭ "‬Oh I'm Sasuke,‭ ‬I'm a‭ _‬proper‭_‬ ninja,‭ ‬I think everyone else is below me,‭" ‬he trilled in a horrible falsetto.‭ "‬One minute I'll be nice to you and let you sleep in my bed,‭ ‬the next minute I'll kick you out of my house and call you an idiot,‭ ‬even though you've been taking care of the house for months and doing my shopping because I'm such a stuck up prick I can't bear to let the villagers see me now my eyes are sealed shut.‭" ‬The blond dropped the voice,‭ ‬momentarily derailed by a stray thought.‭ ‬He frowned,‭ ‬scratching at his tummy and watching some ants scurry across furrows in the bark of the tree in front of him.‭ "‬And how did he get his eyes sealed‭? ‬He only committed enough crimes to land him life imprisonment three times over.‭ ‬And he's still such a big deal they don't bother to lock him up.‭" ‬He sighed and flopped down,‭ ‬ignoring the scratch of the twigs against his skin,‭ ‬and the way the still damp grass was soaking his boxers.‭ "‬I mean fratricide,‭" ‬he continued conversationally to the sky.‭ "‬Even Zabuza never did that.‭" ‬He lay calmly for a while,‭ ‬enjoying the feel of cool earth against the soles of his feet and twisting some grass between his fingers.‭ ‬It'd been a while since he'd done this,‭ ‬just relaxed outside.‭ ‬Everything was so fixated around Sasuke these days.‭ ‬But that was how it was supposed to be,‭ ‬he reasoned,‭ ‬they‭ ‬were brothers.‭ ‬Sort of.

He sat up suddenly,‭ ‬that errant thought sparking a trail in his mind.‭

"He wouldn't kill‭ _‬me‭_‬ would he‭?" ‬Naruto asked out loud.‭ ‬A butterfly that made him reminisced back to his dream for a second‭ (‬already so watery in memory that he could only remember the barest details‭) ‬floated past before alighting a few metres away.‭ "‬No,‭" ‬Naruto reassured himself nervously,‭ ‬fingers drumming on the ground.‭ "‬One brother should be enough for‭ _‬anyone‭_‬.‭" ‬Surely.‭ "‬Besides,‭ ‬if he was going to kill me he'd have done it already,‭ ‬instead of just kicking me out.‭ ‬Naruto pouted a little at the thought of being kicked out,‭ ‬before jumping to his feet and having a good stretch,‭ ‬the kind that made all his joints pop and then his muscles go to goo.‭ "‬Mm,‭ ‬that's the stuff,‭" ‬he said with a smile.‭ "‬I might as well have myself a nice Sasuke free day:‭ ‬chase some squirrels,‭ ‬go for a swim,‭ ‬I should probably do some of my own training...‭"

*

Naruto's conception of time,‭ ‬and well,‭ ‬life,‭ ‬had never been particularly strong.‭ ‬He slept when he was tired,‭ ‬ate when he was hungry and talked all the time,‭ ‬even if no one was listening.‭ ‬It was due to the first two‭ (‬and after a lot of the latter‭) ‬that he returned to the Uchiha compound at dusk the next day.‭ ‬He managed to get into the hallway outside his room,‭ ‬with a mind to change clothes and maybe take a shower before tracking down Sasuke,‭ ‬when he was slammed into the wall.

‭"_‬Where‭_‬ have you been‭?" ‬Sasuke hissed,‭ ‬alarmingly close,‭ ‬his weight pressing Naruto against the wall and the‭ '‬pissed off‭' ‬vibe rolling off him in waves.

‭"‬Ack‭!" ‬said Naruto,‭ ‬clawing at the forearm against his thorax,‭ ‬before Sasuke loosened his grip minutely and the blond sucked in grateful mouthfuls of air.‭ "‬Bastard,‭" ‬he gasped out scowling.‭ "‬Some welcome.‭" ‬Coughing,‭ ‬he tried to wiggle out of the hold,‭ ‬only to find himself being pushed back again,‭ ‬so that his head snapped against the wall.‭ "‬Oooooow.‭"

"‭_‬Where‭_?‬" Sasuke repeated.‭ ‬Naruto frowned,‭ ‬enough was enough.‭ ‬He shifted the grip of his hands that were currently wrapped around Sasuke's arm,‭ ‬and focused his chakra to his fingertips for a split second,‭ ‬but that was enough to trigger the unexpected pain reflex,‭ ‬causing Sasuke to loosen his grip enough for Naruto to escape the hold.

‭"_‬Fuck‭_‬,‭" ‬hissed Sasuke,‭ ‬holding onto his burnt arm.‭ "‬That didn't feel like a fire jutsu.‭"

"It wasn't,‭" ‬Naruto said shortly.‭ "‬I don't know many jutsu,‭ ‬but people always forget that ice burns too.‭ ‬As for where I was,‭ ‬that's none of your business.‭" ‬He glared at the Uchiha,‭ ‬fingers probing his neck tenderly.‭

"You smell like metal,‭" ‬Sasuke accused.

‭"‬Maybe I spent all night with a bucket on my head then,‭" ‬Naruto shouted crossly.‭ "‬What does it matter to you‭?" ‬He was starting to feel really uncomfortable‭; ‬it was dark in the hallway,‭ ‬he was only wearing boxers,‭ ‬and there was something not quite right about Sasuke's anger.

‭"‬It doesn't,‭" ‬Sasuke muttered,‭ ‬standing only a few feet away,‭ ‬but it felt a lot further.‭ ‬A mile.‭ ‬A world.‭ ‬Naruto was expecting that answer,‭ ‬-he knew Sasuke was stupid with emotions and couldn't say something as simple as‭ "‬I don't hate you‭" ‬to a person-‭ ‬but it still hurt.‭ ‬He breathed out.

‭"‬Man Sasuke,‭" ‬he said,‭ ‬trying a weak smile.‭ "‬You're just a weirdo.‭" ‬Sasuke's posture stayed rigid,‭ ‬it seemed the dark haired boy was unwilling to let Naruto laugh it off.‭ "‬Look,‭" ‬Naruto sighed.‭ "‬I'm tired,‭ ‬I wanna go to bed.‭ ‬What's with you‭?"

Sasuke's non-glare intensified,‭ ‬so much so that Naruto was surprised he hadn't combusted on the spot.

‭"‬What's with‭ _‬me‭_?‬" he asked incredulously,‭ ‬stepping back towards Naruto,‭ ‬his footsteps making no sound on the floorboards.‭ "‬You hang around me twenty four seven for two weeks,‭ ‬then disappear for two days and wont tell me where you've been.‭ ‬You smell like you've been fighting with a sword,‭ ‬and you expect me not to be curious‭? ‬You sleep in my bed and you haven't even told me your last name‭!" ‬Sasuke stopped talking,‭ ‬breathing heavily.‭ ‬Naruto blinked in the darkness.‭ ‬That was...‭_‬unexpected‭_‬.‭

But true.‭

He‭ ‬was acting a little bipolar.‭ ‬One minute he wanted to be Sasuke's best friend,‭ ‬the next he totally clammed up and wouldn't tell him anything.

‭"'‬Uzumaki,‭' ‬is my last name,‭" ‬Naruto said carefully.‭ "‬I was‭ _‬training‭_‬ with a sword,‭ ‬and I've been in the woods for the last two days.‭ ‬I didn't realise so much time had passed,‭" ‬he added grudgingly.‭ "S‬orry.‭" ‬Sasuke seemed to consider what he was saying,‭ ‬face blank of expression.

‭"‬The woods‭?"

"Not too far,‭ ‬just around here.‭ ‬Sometimes I like to be outside.‭"

"Why haven't I ever see-‭ ‬Why didn't I know about the sword‭?" ‬Naruto hesitated on that one.

‭"‬The sword isn't really...useful outside of combat.‭ ‬I wouldn't want people to get the wrong idea.‭" ‬That's close enough to the truth,‭ ‬he reasoned.‭ ‬If Sasuke asked for more,‭ ‬he would tell.‭ ‬Fortunately he didn't.

‭"‬...'Uzumaki'‭?"

"Yeah‭?" ‬Naruto said uncertainly,‭ ‬before jutting his chin out arrogantly.‭ "‬You got a problem with that‭?" ‬Sasuke snorted.

‭"‬Of course not,‭ ‬idiot.‭ ‬Who would pick a fight over a name‭?" ‬he asked,‭ ‬raising his eyebrows sceptically which made Naruto relax,‭ ‬because if Sasuke was showing facial expressions he was out of the direct line of fire at‭ ‬least.‭

"Depends what the name is,‭" ‬Naruto muttered so quietly that even Sasuke's enhanced hearing didn't pick up on it.

‭"‬What was that‭?" ‬Sasuke asked,‭ ‬his voice seemed sharp,‭ ‬but Naruto could tell from the soft lines of his face that he wasn't really angry anymore.‭ ‬He wondered at what point he decided he could read Sasuke.

‭"‬Not important,‭ ‬besides,‭ ‬you've asked me enough questions,‭ ‬I answered them.‭ ‬Now it's your turn,‭" ‬Naruto said,‭ ‬smiling wickedly,‭ ‬the expression widening as he saw the stricken look flash over Sasuke's face.‭ "‬It doesn't matter if you're‭ _‬scared‭_," ‬he mocked.

‭"‬Tch,‭ ‬moron,‭" ‬Sasuke shot right back,‭ ‬his own words being thrown at him riled him up.‭ "‬I only asked three questions.‭" ‬He was standing opposite Naruto,‭ ‬hand perched on his hip,‭ ‬and the hallway didn't have any windows,‭ ‬but Naruto could see just fine with the light coming in from his bedroom that Sasuke had that smirk on his face.‭ ‬The I'm-better-than-you-and-you-know-it smirk that he liked to wear.‭ ‬Somehow it irritated Naruto and he frowned,‭ ‬pulling his eyebrows together before moving stepping closer to the dark haired boy.

‭"‬And I answered.‭ ‬Not my fault if you chose dumb questions,‭" ‬he said,‭ ‬standing toe to toe with the other boy.‭ ‬Sasuke was about half an inch taller than Naruto,‭ ‬although it was probably just hair,‭ ‬he reasoned.‭ ‬And he was stronger than the bastard anyway.‭ "‬Now you.‭" ‬Sasuke opened his mouth and closed it again.

‭"‬I don't think I want to do question time right now,‭ ‬Naruto,‭" ‬Sasuke said quietly.‭ ‬Naruto squared his jaw.

‭"‬Tough‭! ‬We're following my rules bec-‭" ‬Naruto stopped,‭ ‬midtirade,‭ ‬the words disintegrating in his mouth and being swallowed.‭ ‬Because Sasuke had just reached out an arm to span the small space between them and was‭ _‬touching‭_‬ his arm.‭ ‬It wasn't that they hadn't touched before,‭ ‬hell they were sleeping in the same bed,‭ ‬Naruto had rolled onto Sasuke too many times to count.‭ ‬And Naruto never hesitated to loop a friendly arm around Sasuke's shoulder,‭ ‬or elbow him for being a jerk.‭ ‬But this was‭ _‬Sasuke‭_‬ touching‭ _‬him‭_‬.‭ ‬And even if it was a little hesitant, it wasn't accidental.‭ ‬Sasuke's hand was warm even through the material of his shirt,‭ ‬and moving upwards,‭ ‬to his shoulder.‭ ‬Once there,‭ ‬it paused for a second,‭ ‬seemingly indecisive,‭ ‬before skittering up his neck,‭ ‬ghosting over the hollow of his throat and veering towards his jawbone.‭ ‬Naruto swallowed and tried to force his heartbeat to remain normal.‭ ‬This was normal.‭ ‬Sasuke was blind,‭ ‬for all intents and purposes.‭ ‬Blind people needed to touch things to see,‭ ‬to get a picture in their mind.‭ ‬Well,‭ ‬Sasuke was certainly getting a picture,‭ ‬but Naruto wasn't sure‭ (‬although he had an idea he couldn't voice even in his mind‭) ‬why Sasuke felt he needed to get such a detailed picture of his mouth.‭

"Wh-what are you doing‭?" ‬Naruto said,‭ ‬as Sasuke brushed the blond's bottom lip with the pad of his thumb,‭ ‬trailing his first two fingers across Naruto's cheekbone.

‭"‬I want to do something else,‭" ‬Sasuke breathed,‭ ‬and Naruto realised just how close they were standing,‭ ‬how he could feel the slight puffs of breath against his mouth,‭ ‬how it felt as though he was surrounded by the other boy.

Sasuke stilled the movement of his hand against Naruto's face,‭ ‬holding his head carefully with the tips of his fingers tangled in his hair while his other hand slipped down to circle one of his wrists.‭ ‬Naruto thought that it was strange that Sasuke's grip,‭ ‬usually so sure,‭ ‬seemed to be trembling,‭ ‬but that couldn't be right-‭ t‬hen Sasuke tilted his head‭ _‬just so‭_ ‬and slanted his mouth across Naruto's.

And Naruto stopped thinking at all.

Naruto had only really participated once in a kiss and that had been the shaky kiss he pressed to Haku's still-warm forehead before he lowered him into the ground next to Zabuza.‭ ‬The taste that Haku's skin had left on his lips was of blood and Naruto never stopped hating how wrong that was.‭ ‬He hated that beautiful,‭ ‬peace loving Haku had been dragged into a fight that wasn't his own,‭ ‬and had died for it happily,‭ ‬without‭ ‬a thought for his own well-being.‭ ‬He hated more that he hadn't died with them.

Sasuke didn't taste of blood.‭ ‬He didn't really taste of anything,‭ ‬not that Naruto could tell from the trembling but firm press of lips against his.‭ ‬He felt as though an electrical current was running all over his body,‭ ‬rendering him completely immobile,‭ ‬so that all he could do was stand frozen,‭ ‬while Sasuke parted his lips slightly and lightly swiped his tongue against Naruto's mouth,‭ ‬making his nerve endings jolt.‭ ‬Sasuke seemed to know what he was doing a little more than Naruto did,‭ ‬even if he was a little clumsy and hesitant,‭ ‬as he carefully eased Naruto's lips apart with his own,‭ ‬before deepening the kiss.

And it was...

..It was...

...Nice...

...Sort of.‭ ‬Even though Naruto's neck was bent back a little uncomfortably,‭ ‬and their teeth kept clacking against each other when Naruto shifted at the same time as Sasuke,‭ ‬and his whole body was starting to feel pretty warm and his palms were sweating and his fingers were twitching with a need to do‭ _‬something‭_‬.

But it was warm and soft and‭ _‬close‭_‬ and the way Sasuke's fingers were trailing up the soft skin of his arm was making little happy jolts in his tummy. Maybe this was what he had wanted from the start.‭ ‬It felt so good that Naruto wanted to make‭ _‬Sasuke‭_‬ feel it too.‭ ‬Carefully,‭ ‬Naruto lifted his arm,‭ ‬feeling Sasuke tense a little at the movement.‭ ‬He gave the other boy's lip a playful nip to show it was okay,‭ ‬then skimmed the tips of his fingers up to Sasuke's shoulder and stroking at the skin just under his collar.‭ ‬Sasuke shivered and made a small,‭ ‬desperate noise into the kiss which made Naruto smile against his mouth so Sasuke bit him.

When they broke apart,‭ ‬Naruto made a satisfied,‭ ‬happy sound before nipping Sasuke's‭ ‬jaw and moving back a little,‭ ‬so they could see each other.‭ ‬He waited a few seconds for Sasuke to open his eyes,‭ ‬before realising the other boy wouldn't.

‭"‬Heh,‭" ‬he breathed,‭ ‬pushing Sasuke's fringe from his face.‭ "‬I knew you liked me.‭" ‬The dark haired boy seemed indecisive,‭ ‬a slightly frown playing on his face while his hand had curled back around Naruto's wrist.‭ "‬Although,‭" ‬Naruto added thoughtfully,‭ ‬leaning in just a little so he could drop a clumsy kiss on the side of Sasuke's mouth.‭ "‬I don't think brothers are supposed to do this.‭"

Sasuke punched him so hard he saw stars.


	4. Chapter 4 and an Extra

The Boy In The Photograph

A/N:: Thanks to everyone who reviewed. This chapter is comparatively shorter than the others, but there's a little extra at the end. It's not exactly necessary to the story, but it takes place in the same universe.

Acknowledgments again: **frickative** is my amazing amazing beta who puts up with my ridiculous typos and utter lack of grammar, gives me fabulous feedback that is both helpful and inspirational, and puts up with me insisting she watches various Naruto videos.**transient_words** also gave me some lovely feedback and encouraged me to post this. Soesy for her story Set In Stone which is amazing and you should read, without it this would never have been written.

Disclaimer: This story is five percent me, twenty percent my beta and seventy five percent all the stories I have read, fanfiction and originalfic alike. I take no credit.

**Summary**: Naruto knew it wasn't his house, of course. He just hadn't thought anyone would be back to claim it.  
**Genre**: Humour, Romance, Angst, General  
**Wordcount**: ~4000/20,000  
**Part 4/5**

Sasuke sulked for three days.

In the three days, he refused to let Naruto near him, storming out of the room whenever Naruto entered, kicking Naruto out of the bed, and throwing chopsticks whenever Naruto persisted. Naruto tried to ambush him by waiting in Sasuke's room until it got dark, but when Naruto finally left at midnight, realising that Sasuke wasn't coming, he found all the ramen had been poured down the sink and Sasuke was curled up asleep on the sofa.

It was the ramen that pushed him to think, even if it was to think of what he could do which would be retaliation enough for the loss of precious, heart-attack inducing ramen. He was perched on his futon in his room, trying to figure out if he could throw all the tomatoes away and refuse to buy any more, when it occurred to him that maybe Sasuke was justified when he got angry.

He hadn't actually told Sasuke that he considered him a brother until that moment. Hadn't really acknowledged that Sasuke would have a bucket-load of issues relating to brothers. Hadn't really paid attention to the fact that calling someone family after kissing them was more than a little icky. Naruto wasn't so great with the social skills, but even he knew that incest was a no-no.

So maybe Naruto hadn't been the most tactful. Sasuke had, after all, had a somewhat complicated relationship with his brother. Maybe it would have been better to keep the brother thing completely separate from the Naruto Thing and the Kissing Thing. And now that he considered it, he didn't really want to think of Sasuke as a brother anymore, if they were doing the Kissing Thing. Assuming there was going to be any more of the Kissing Thing after what Naruto had done. No, Sasuke wouldn't be his brother. Sasuke wasn't the boy in the photograph anymore, he was something else, something more. The boy in the photograph was from the past, a place he had left far far behind, it seemed. The Sasuke of the here and now was older, harder. He'd been through experiences that had shaped him and changed him from the innocent-eyed boy he'd once been. It gave him both a viciousness and a volatility that Naruto found captivating, qualities that made Naruto want him in a very different way to the brotherhood he'd longed for previously.

Except he'd sort of made a mess of that, hadn't he? Sitting there, on his bed, Naruto felt annoyed with himself for being so tactless. He was also annoyed with Sasuke for being so sensitive. And annoyed with Zabuza for laughing at him when he had asked what 'love' was, and at Haku for just giving him that sad-but-hopeful smile of his and saying nothing. Not that he thought he was in love with Sasuke. In all honesty, he wouldn't know if he was. But he didn't think so. He was pretty sure love was a bit more epic than this. Maybe this was like.

It felt like like. He liked being around Sasuke, liked talking to him even if it was just insulting him. He liked to know that Sasuke trusted him enough to talk a little about his past. He liked sleeping next to him. He liked touching him....

Naruto made a frustrated noise and flopped back on his futon. It wasn't as nice, sleeping on his own. He should do something nice to Sasuke, to make up for it.

The next day, Naruto waited until Sasuke was finished training outside and then plopped down next to him a mug of green tea. Sasuke liked green tea, Naruto had realised, and he didn't mind sharing the rations of teabags. Not with Sasuke, at least. The blond waited patiently while Sasuke did a few stretches and then accepted the drink wordlessly, resisting the urge to start babbling and irritate the other boy until he was finished.

"Come with me to the woods," Naruto said as soon as Sasuke put his glass down. In typical Sasuke fashion, the dark haired boy reacted minimally.

"Why?" he asked blankly, raising an eyebrow.

"I wanna show you something," Naruto said simply. Sasuke said nothing, his face turned to the training ground, and then sighed.

"Okay."

They walked in silence, side by side. Naruto thought about taking Sasuke's hand, but decided against it, since Sasuke probably didn't like that sort of thing. He couldn't help but wonder what it would feel like though, to hold hands with Sasuke. Would his hand be hot or cold? Rough or soft? Naruto tried to remember what it had been like when Sasuke's hand had been on his wrist, but he couldn't because he had been so distracted then and because everytime he thought about it he was filled with an overpowering need to touch Sasuke again, and it must have shown in his movements or something because Sasuke kept giving him odd little looks, so he had to think of something else to calm himself down.

"Where are we going?" Sasuke asked suddenly, and Naruto realised how much trust Sasuke was putting in him by following him. Although Sasuke was certainly not defenceless, he was at a disadvantage, and for all he knew, Naruto could be leading him in to an ambush. Naruto wondered if he would trust Sasuke the same if their positions were reversed.

"Just, ah.," Naruto looked around to get his bearings. "Just here," he said, a little surprised that they were already there.

"And where is here?" Sasuke drawled, sounding bored even though Naruto could tell he wasn't by the way his expression was that of forced blankness. Naruto looked around again and skipped over to an old tree before jumping into it and crouching down over the top of the thick trunk.

"This tree," Naruto announced proudly, "is hollow." He knocked on it to demonstrate and it made an empty, thunking noise. "I use it to hide stuff that I don't want to keep in the house."

"Like what?" Sasuke asked, stepping to the base of the tree and looking up as Naruto rummaged inside the trunk.

"Just stuff," Naruto said, not mentioning that right now most of the trunk was taken up with his secret stash of ramen. He pushed aside a few leaves that had floated in and his hand closed around what he was actually looking for. "But I wanted to show you this." He pulled his arm out and jumped down, landing easily, flourishing the object.

"What is it?" Sasuke queried, putting his hand out demandingly. He had forgotten about sulking, Naruto could tell. This was just normal Sasuke behaviour. Naruto handed over the object and Sasuke gripped it, running the fingers of his free hand over it.

"It's a scroll," Naruto answered, pointing out the obvious as Sasuke had already opened it and was running his hands over the kanji inside.

"A storage scroll," Sasuke murmured, more to himself than to Naruto, reading its contents from texture alone. "For a sword. Your sword?" His attention snapped back to the blond.

"Yup," Naruto said with a nod, feeling oddly pleased with himself.

"It's chakra coded," Sasuke's fingers ran over the last character and he stopped. "I can't open it." He closed it and handed it back to Naruto.

"No, you shouldn't be able to," Naruto agreed, crouching down and opening it out on the grass.

"But you can?" Sasuke verified, crouching next to him. Naruto flashed him a vulpine smile.

"You betcha." He put his hand palm down in the centre of the scroll so that it was circled by various different characters. Naruto couldn't read them, but he knew they meant that only he, Haku and Zabuza could use the scroll. He concentrated.

There was puff of smoke, and he felt a jolt which meant some chakra had been pulled from him, and suddenly instead of warm paper, his hand was lying on top of the cold metal of the sword.

There was something about Zabuza's sword that always demanded his full attention. From the first day the tip of it lazily trailed the skin over his jugular when they found him stealing their supplies, to the day he nearly tied it to the wooden cross he'd used as a makeshift headstone. He'd nearly left it, a part of him had wanted to leave it and turn around and the next time someone mentioned the Demon of the Mist he'd think oh I heard of him, supposed to be real scary, got killed though, and that would be that. There would be no thinking about the horrible horrible look of contentment in Haku's eyes before Naruto closed them and no hand shaking in fear as he tried to prize the hilt out of Zabuza's cold, stiff grip. But that would be running away, and Naruto wouldn't do it. So he took the sword (back then he had staggered under the weight, wondered how Zabuza had managed to heft it so casually, but he never again considered leaving it behind, never mind how heavy it and awkward against his back it was) and left Wave Country.

Now the sword was his, and he could even, on good days, imagine that Zabuza would be happy that he had it. He kept it in the scroll most of the time, but training with it was natural to him, even calming. It had taken time but the muscles in his arms had gradually adjusted and his fighting style changed to incorporate it. He would never be as comfortable with the weapon as Zabuza had been, but then, he didn't really want to. What was important was that he could use it at all, without breaking down.

"It worked then," Sasuke said, a tiny frown the only indication of his curiosity. "I can smell the smoke."

"Of course it worked," Naruto scoffed. "I could do that summon in my sleep." Getting a good grip on the hilt, he stood, feeling pleased as his muscles contracted with little effort to take the extra weight. The months of practice had made what was all but impossible to begin with now second nature. He gave a few experimental slices through the air, grinning widely as he heard the cutting noise. He wasn't usually so self-gratifying, but there was no way to handle a weapon like this with a good level of control and not feel powerful.

"It sounds big," Sasuke noted as Naruto did a few more playful swipes and then a couple of lunges, thrusting the blade into an invisible enemy.

"It is big," Naruto said, straightening from his lunge and lowering the sword. "You wanna see?"

"I don't see an-" Sasuke started out with a scowl, but his voice caught when he felt cool metal being place in his hand. "Naruto?" He asked questioningly, as though he wasn't quite sure what was being offered.

"Be careful, it's heavy," Naruto informed him softly, before wrapping his hands around Sasuke's so that they closed around the hilt of the blade. "You got it?"

"I- Yeah," Sasuke muttered, and Naruto felt the other boy's fingers tighten around the hilt.

"Okay," said Naruto. "I'm letting go now." He released his own grip and watched in fascination as Sasuke's muscles visibly corded as he struggled to keep the sword aloft, his jaw clenched with effort. He had thought it would be harder to trust Sasuke with something so precious to him, but he could tell that Sasuke understood the gravity of the action and Naruto knew somehow right then that the dark haired, sulky, arrogant boy whose wrists were trembling from the weight wouldn't let him down.

"Impressive," Sasuke breathed, having finally gotten to grips with the weight and trying a few experimental swings.

"You seem pretty at home," Naruto commented, watching as Sasuke's movements became more fluid, his actions a little more sure. Did he know how beautiful he looked, Naruto wondered. "Do you use a sword?"

"I did," Sasuke answered, emphasising the latter word, his concentration on executing a sweeping strike at an invisible opponent. "It was nothing like this."

"No," agreed Naruto with a little shake of his head. "It wouldn't have been. Where's your sword now?"

"Confiscated," Sasuke grunted, his teeth gritted as he focused on a downward swipe. "Just like everything else."

"Oh," Naruto managed, feeling stupid again. He knew that. He was supposed to be getting Sasuke to trust him, not to irritate him. He looked up in surprise as Sasuke handed the sword back to him. "You done already?" Sasuke shrugged.

"I'm not built to use something like that for long periods of time," he answered lightly. Naruto tried not to gape but failed, because Sasuke noticed, despite not seeing. He snorted softly. "You think I don't know my own limits."

"You just don't seem like the kind of person that would care about their limits if they were getting in the way of their goal, is all," Naruto said carefully.

"Maybe," Sasuke shrugged again. "But I don't have any goals left, do I?" Naruto scowled at that, but stopped himself from starting an argument.

"So, aren't you gonna ask about the sword?" Naruto asked as they sat down.

Sasuke raised a ridiculously delicate eyebrow at him.

"Are you going to answer if I do?" he asked with a tinge of incredulity.

"Depends what you ask," Naruto said. "But I probably will." Sasuke stayed silent for a moment, absorbing this information and gathering his thoughts.

"You said that you don't carry the sword around because it would attract attention. It's not just a really big sword, is it?" Sasuke didn't face him, instead faced the hollow tree the scroll had been stashed in.

"No," Naruto agreed. He had been expecting this one. "The sword belonged to a man named Momochi Zabuza. As a konoha-nin you probably know him better as the demon of the mist."

"I've heard of him..." Sasuke started, his forehead wrinkled in thought. "He died a year ago, and was greatly feared.. That's all I know, I didn't pay much attention." Naruto had to close his eyes at that, it hurt a lot to hear that the death of Zabuza, that had split Naruto's world apart at the seams and torn into the somewhat stable landscape he'd become familiar with, had been just casual, unimportant news to Sasuke. "Did you know him?"

"Yeah," Naruto sighed, leaning back so his weight was on the palms of his hands. "I worked with him for a while." He snuck a glance at Sasuke who remained expressionless. "What, you're not going to start making a big deal about me working with a missing-nin?"

"It would be rather hypocritical if I did, don't you think? Until recently I was labelled one myself." Naruto didn't mention that whatever Sasuke had done as a rogue ninja had probably not included the slaughter of thousands for a living. "I _am_ surprised that you allied yourself to him though. You don't seem to have the temperament to live like that."

Naruto scratched absently at his knee, admiring the play of light reflected in the sword. He made sure to always keep it clean, it was the sort of sword that demanded respect, the idea of putting it back into the scabbard without cleaning it made him shudder.

"I didn't really. Zabuza used to do the serious fighting stuff, Haku- that was this other guy who worked with us- he used to do anything to do with stealth, or something that required more finesse. I was mainly just there for the distraction. I attract a lot of attention."

"You are rather loud," Sasuke admitted dryly.

"Heh, yeah, and the way I look means I stand out in a crowd," he added, self-consciously running a hand through his hair. He liked the way he looked, liked that he could get attention, but he would have preferred to get it based on his personality or his achievements, not just his colouring. Noting that Sasuke had yet to answer he turned his head questioningly.

"I don't know what you look like," Sasuke said monotonously, feeling Naruto's gaze.

"Oh, right." Naruto closed his eyes in self-loathing. How could he forget something like that? Sasuke took a breath in, as though he was about to say something, then changed his mind and exhaled.

"Do you fight a lot with the sword?" Sasuke asked instead. Naruto opened his eyes, relieved at the change of topic.

"Not that much, it's too obvious. And I don't like fighting unless there's a good reason behind it. I never understood the whole concept of being a ninja and killing people just 'cause some old guy thinks you should."

"A pacifist then?"

"That's what Haku said. He didn't like fighting either. A bit crazy when you figure we were teamed up with Zabuza."

"Sometimes we make awkward alliances to survive," Sasuke said after a moment.

"Guess so," said Naruto, somewhat morosely, his attention turned inward. In his mind he was thinking of the first time he begged and begged Zabuza to let him help in the fight, instead of just doing the grunt work like keeping any one else distracted with the few tricks he'd been taught. Zabuza had finally relented, since it had been a three against three fight, and Naruto had been so pleased. He'd fought perfectly, using every opening made available to him and had been filled with fierce jubilation right up to the minute he slashed a kunai through his opponent's throat (just like Zabuza had shown him, cleanly, severing the jugular vein) and felt the body go still. He'd watched the blood chug itself out of the wound, first powerfully, then sluggishly until it stopped, and had stared in horror as his opponent paled and turned cold. He'd finished first, but was still knelt over the body by the time both Haku and Zabuza ended their fights. Zabuza had pulled him away, gruffly muttering something about needing to leave, Haku had given him that sad, sad look of understanding and later pulled him away to explain some basic pressure points that would temporarily incapacitate an enemy without causing permanent harm. He had been demoted back to grunt's work after that, it had been humiliating, but he hadn't been able to control the expression of relief when the next time they prepared for combat, Zabuza had handed Naruto their packs and told him to meet them on the outskirts of the village.

"Naruto?"

"Yeah?" Naruto asked absently, before turning his attention back to Sasuke.

"Why did you show me this?" The other boy's expression was puzzled, the corners of his mouth pulled down. Naruto gave him a smile that was so wide his eyes narrowed to thin slits of blue.

"'Cause I want you to know I trust you," he said simply. "And I want you to be able to trust me too."

Naruto caught the slightest trace of surprise, and then the beginnings of a blush on Sasuke's cheeks, before the other boy turned his face away, muttering a gruff "moron" which Naruto translated as acceptance.

"Anyway, I'm gonna put this away," Naruto said after a few minutes of thoughtful silence as he stood, raising the impressive weapon as he did. He reopened the scroll which had closed itself and reversed the summon, grateful that Haku had thought to make the scroll. Zabuza might have no problem carrying the monster of a sword around all day, and Naruto was comfortable holding it and had good stamina to boot, but there was no way he would have the energy to lug it from place to place. The scrolls snapped shut and he dropped it in the hollow tree, taking care to put a few leaves on top of it in case anyone should look inside. When he scrambled back down, Sasuke was standing and quietly waiting, his expression distant. "Ready to go then?" Naruto asked cheerfully. Sasuke replied in the affirmative (or at least Naruto interpreted the grunt he received as a 'yes') and they started back to the house.

As they walked, Naruto snuck a few sly glances at Sasuke and was thrilled to see the quieter boy seemed much more relaxed, and certainly wasn't sulking any more. He silently congratulated himself. Yup, this had been a great idea. "So Sasuke, can we make out now?"

For a second, the way that Sasuke stopped walking and his muscles tensed made Naruto think he was about to get a fist in his jaw again, and he tensed, preparing for it. Then Sasuke relaxed, turned his head a little in Naruto's direction and gave him a tiny smirk that somehow made the blond's mouth go dry.

"I'll think about it," Sasuke answered lightly, before carrying on. Naruto stood there, eyes fixed on the spot Sasuke had just vacated for a few seconds before snapping out of it. Success! In Sasuke speak, that was the equivalent of permission to touch him whenever and wherever!

Sasuke must have expected Naruto to wait until they got home, since he seemed a little surprised when the blond tackled him to the ground and then settled over his hips, but he didn't let it show on his expression.

"Moron," he said instead, bringing a hand up to touch the back of his head. "Concussion isn't sexy."

"I'll make up for it," Naruto promised, leaning forward a little bit and pausing to take the image of his partner in. Sasuke, with his dark hair sticking up behind his head, his usually pale skin showing a hint of a blush, the slight tremble of his eyelashes against his cheeks the only thing betraying his nervousness. Did he have any idea how tempting he was?

"Hey, did you fall asleep sitting up?" Sasuke asked, his lips pressed together in irritation. Naruto swallowed, embarrassed and glad that Sasuke couldn't see the slight reddening on his cheeks. But along with the embarrassment was excitement, because Sasuke wasn't giving him that irritated look because he was angry with him. His wasn't frowning because Naruto had messed something up. He wasn't frustrated that Naruto was an idiot, or didn't understand something. Sasuke was frustrated because Naruto wasn't _doing_ anything, because Naruto had jumped on him and then stopped. If Naruto was the sort to exercise any self-control he would have revelled in this feeling and tried to see the extent of the power he held. As it was, Naruto wasn't.

"No I didn't, but it's nice to know you're so desperate," Naruto said teasingly. Sasuke looked affronted and wiggled a little, trying to dislodge the blond.

" I was under the impression you _had_ a clue, but if you- mrph" Naruto cut off Sasuke's brief tirade by pressing his lips firmly against the others, taking the opportunity to breath Sasuke's scent in deeply. He'd missed that. When they'd kissed for the first time, they had been standing, their touches slightly awkward and unsure. Now though, it was much more comfortable. Naruto decided immediately that he preferred kissing Sasuke when they were lying down. Having his warm weight to rest against, with no space between them was infinitely better than standing. At first, he could feel Sasuke's hip bone poking into him, but after a few seconds of shifting while their mouths became reacquainted, he managed to align himself snugly with the other boy's body, slipping his legs between Sasuke and keeping his weight on his forearms. Once comfortable, he refocused on how to tilt his head so that he didn't keep bumping his nose against Sasuke's, and how to run his fingers lightly down the other's neck in a way that made him groan. Oh yes, coaxing delicious noises out of Sasuke could keep him entertained for years. As Sasuke let out a surprised gasp when Naruto gave into the urge to grind., he quickly revised this statement. Forget years, he could do this forever.

**An Extra: Frogspawn and Profanity**

Inspired by the line: _And I can see Zabuza swearing like a sailor._ so thanks **akalillyn**.

**Title:** Frogspawn and Profanity  
**Rating:** PG-13 for BAD language.  
**Genre:** Humour, general.  
**Wordcount:** 749

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Naruto.  
**Acknowledgments**: Beta'd by **frickative** who also has been making me some Naruto icons and OH MY GOSH IS THERE NO END TO HER AWESOMENESS?

"I love it when we camp near a stream!" Naruto exclaimed, hopping around the tent that he had just put up. It had taken an hour, because although Naruto put up a tent every few days, he couldn't seem to stop pegging his own clothes into the ground as well as the tent corners. In fact, Haku noticed that the bottom of the black trousers he was wearing appeared to have a hole near the hem.

"We do often camp near a stream," Haku pointed out. "It's a basic survival tactic to have running water nearby."

"Yeah, but this stream seems nicer," Naruto said happily, crouched a meter away from the stream. It was almost wide enough to be called a river, but not as fast running. The banks were a little muddy as the grass gave away nearer the edge, but it had been dry enough for the past few weeks that it wasn't dangerous to sit there. Haku had no idea when he had got the longish stick he was holding, but wouldn't put it past Naruto to have found it hours ago and hidden it up his shirt for the majority of their journey. "It's a nice stream," Naruto decided as he poked the stick into the running water, watching fascinated as the liquid parted on either side of it. "Hey, d'ya think there are fish in it?" Naruto asked suddenly, looking over his shoulder at Haku who had settled on a rock and was sewing up a hole in Zabuza's shirt. Zabuza himself had gone on ahead to the nearest town to meet some contact or another, leaving them to set up camp and get on with odd jobs.

"Possibly," Haku said. "It would be nice to have some freshwater fish for dinner. Zabuza would like that."

"I'm gonna collect frogspawn!" Naruto announced suddenly, dropping his stick so that it was caught in the current and washed briskly away. "I always wanted to collect frogspawn, I got a jar and everything!" At this, he grabbed his pack from where he'd dropped it carelessly on the ground, and started rummaging in it, tossing out clothes and kunai in a way that made Haku sigh. "Oh no!" Haku glanced up from the shirt sharply, eyes trained on Naruto's direction.

"What is it?"

"It broke!" Naruto complained, tipping his pack upside down so that a few odd items fell out, and then several large shards of glass. "Musta' dropped it..." Haku watched with amusement as Naruto pouted, sticking out his bottom lip as he looked at the broken jar morosely. Although Naruto was the same age as Haku, and his past was just as dark, he was so much more childish. So innocent. So- "That's so fucking _gay_." Huh?

*

"Zabuza-san, you're back early," Haku said calmly when an hour later Zabuza strode into their camp, taking his sword off and digging it into the ground while looking around.

"Yeah," he grunted. "Where's the brat?"

"Naruto has gone to swim in the river," Haku informed him, putting aside the now mended shirt. "I suggested he went further down where the water was a little deeper."

"He'd better not drown," Zabuza said, his voice gravelly.

"It would very much surprise me if he did," Haku replied. "I wished to talk to you about Naruto actually."

"Hm?" Zabuza looked up from unwinding the bandages around his mouth. "What?"

"I was speaking to him earlier, and he seems to have picked up some bad language," Haku divulged solemnly, his eyes earnest as he moved to sit nearer his superior who snorted at the news.

"Really?" Zabuza asked with little interest, dropping the unwound bandages at his side.

"Yes," Haku confirmed. "Do you have any idea where he could have heard it?"

"No fucking clue. D'you know?"

"I have a fair idea," Haku replied with a resigned expression.

And so it passed that the swear jar system was implemented, into which much of Zabuza's money collected. Unfortunately it was discovered that no amount of money lost could change Zabuza's bad habit, and Naruto continued to repeat the less than savoury vocabulary that he picked up with no regard for what he was actually saying. The noble endeavour was not a completely failure, however, since Haku used all the money to buy himself peaches. He gave the jar to Naruto, who declared he was going to use it to grow tadpoles in and then promptly dropped it.

It broke into five pieces.

Naruto swore.


	5. Chapter 5

The Boy In The Photograph

Here is the final part of The Boy In The Photograph. It's longer than the other chapters, but I said five parts and will stick to it. The ending has changed a little, it didn't feel complete before, but I like it now. I hope everyone enjoys it. Thanks to everyone who commented. Sorry about the slight delay. I have exams.

Acknowledgments again: **frickative** is my beta. There are no words to describe how lucky I am to have her as a beta. She helps with everything, no matter how small or useless. Without her I would have given up on fic a long time ago. **transient_words** who I am in awe of gave me some great feedback and encouraged me to go ahead and post this, instead of lurking around shyly. Soesy's Set In Stone is far better than this story and is what inspired it.

Disclaimer: This story is five percent me, twenty percent my beta and seventy five percent all the stories I have read, fanfiction and original alike. I take no credit.

**Summary**: Naruto knew it wasn't his house, of course. He just hadn't thought anyone would be back to claim it.  
**Genre**: Humour, Romance, Angst, General  
**Wordcount**: ~6000/20,000  
**Part 5/5**

The sun blazed into Naruto's room through the open window, brightening its interior. Naruto was lying on his bed, stomach down, reading his book. Sasuke was somewhere around meditating, and so Naruto decided to relax in his own room instead of bothering the other. Naruto's book was about chakra. It had been Haku's book, and now it was Naruto's. It was the only serious book he'd ever read, and when Haku had given it to him Naruto had wondered if the quiet boy wasn't making fun of him since the cover had looked so sombre and serious. Naruto had thought that it would be the kind of book with tiny writing and long words that he didn't understand, the kind of book that would make him fall asleep after the first page. But Haku had seemed to want him to read it, so just to appease him, Naruto had given it a try, and he was very pleased that he had. The book was very interesting for one thing, it didn't just give the information but backed it up with examples and stories about people. It also didn't use annoying long words that could have been written in a far simpler way. A lot of what Naruto knew about chakra had come from the book, which was good since Zabuza's teachings had mainly circled around breaking and entering, stealing, sabotaging and murdering, instead of the nature of chakra and its control. Naruto was thinking that since he had a lot of free time these days, and it was nice to give Sasuke time to himself too, that he would work on a few of the exercises in the book, maybe practice doing seals with only one hand.

There was a light knock at the door, at which Naruto looked up delightedly.  
"Come in!" he shouted cheerily, the novelty of having both a room and someone to invite in having not worn off yet. The door opened to reveal Sasuke with one hand in his pocket, the other on the door handle, looking bored. "Sasuke!"

"Who else?" Sasuke grumbled, stepping in and shutting the door behind him.

"What are you here for?" Naruto asked excitedly, shutting his book and leaving it on the bed before standing up. His eyes lit up with a sudden thought. "Wanna fool around?"

Sasuke gave him a withering look.

"No, you idiot," he said, ignoring the sad sound Naruto made. "We're out of milk."

"No we're not," Naruto said, frowning in confusion. "There's definitely half a carton still left in the fridge." Sasuke let out an impatient sigh.

"Yes, but it went out of date two days ago. You might have an iron clad stomach but the rest of us prefer our food before it decomposes."

"Yeah, yeah," Naruto said, waving his hand indulgently. "I'll get some whenever."

"Good," said Sasuke. He turned to leave, but then hesitated, looking towards Naruto. The blond tilted his head curiously.

"What?"

"What were you doing?" Sasuke asked. Naruto grinned widely before bouncing over to his bed and picking the book up.

"I was reading my book," he proclaimed cheerily. "See." He placed the book in Sasuke's hands, letting go when he felt the other grip it. "It's a really good book, about chakra and jutsu and seals and stuff. Its got this really great story about this clan that had this awesome bloodline limit where they could manipulate their bones and use them as weapons. How gross must that have been?" Sasuke hmm'd non-committally.

"Do you have a lot of books?" he asked, handing the book back and looking around.

"Oh yeah!" realised Naruto with a start. "You've not really been in my room, lemme show you around." He grabbed Sasuke's wrist and pulled him a few steps towards the bed. "This is my bed, where I used to sleep before, but I like sleeping with you _way_ better so don't worry." He moved them to the shelf. "This is a shelf where I like to keep nice things that I find. Go on, you can pick 'em up or whatever," Naruto invited. He watched as Sasuke raised his hand to the shelf and ran his fingers over first the wood and then slowly forward until he hit an object. "That's this bird feather I found ages and ages ago, it's like, really dark black, but sort of blue too." Sasuke replaced the feather and moved to the next item.

"Is this a jam jar?" he asked in confusion, rotating the empty jar in his hand.

"Erm, yeah," Naruto answered with a self-conscious laugh. "I used to keep frogspawn in it, at least I thought it was frogspawn, but I didn't really know what frogspawn looked like, and it never grew or nothing, so I just emptied it back into the pond eventually."

"Tch, sounds like you," Sasuke murmured, putting it back on the wooden shelf, his fingers moving to the next object. They hesitated when he touched the cold metal, then continued. "What's this?"

"That's one of my favourite," Naruto said proudly. "It's, y'know, one of those forehead protector things, that real ninja wear? Hey, how come you don't have one?" Sasuke stayed quiet for a little while.

"I did," he said finally. "But I lost it."

"Too bad," Naruto said sympathetically. "You can have this one if you want. You're a ninja of Konoha, afterall. I just found-" Naruto stopped speaking, swallowing his words as Sasuke pressed the forehead protector, fabric side down, against his forehead, stepping closer so he could tie it at the back. Naruto's breathing hitched slightly at the proximity, while Sasuke's fingers deftly tied a knot behind his head.

"There," Sasuke said softly, pulling the ends tight and stepping back. Naruto exhaled, disappointed but pleased. He gave Sasuke a sparkling smile.

"How do I look? Really handsome, I bet. Like a proper ninja, right?" He pushed back his shoulders and tried to look imposing.

"Right," said Sasuke with wry smile. "You look great." There was a pregnant silence, which Naruto broke by laughing awkwardly, deflating slightly.

"But it's just dressing up, really," he said, hands going up to untie the knot. "Still, must be nice, to be tied to a village." He pulled the forehead protector off and held it for a second, seemingly indecisive, before putting it back on the shelf. He threw a glance at Sasuke, but the dark haired boy was deep in thought, facing the window. "I'll get the milk later," he promised.

Sasuke nodded.

"Sure."

After he left Naruto went back to reading his book, but something didn't feel quite right.

He didn't realise that he'd forgotten to claim an extra week.

*

Naruto opened his eyes to feel Sasuke's foot poking his side, and to hear Sasuke telling him to wake up.

"Come _on_, moron. You can't sleep all day," Sasuke drawled, giving Naruto's side a particularly vicious push. Naruto made a noise which might have been 'Nooooooo' but was muffled by the pillows.

"You're not going to be able to sleep at night."

"'S too early," Naruto mumbled, curled up on his side, pulling the blankets tighter around him.. Aah his bed was soft and warm and comfortable and perfect for sleeping in. With a happy sigh, he cast his mind afloat and started drifting back to dreamland.

"It's _not_ too early," Sasuke said, which was all the warning Naruto got before the covers were roughly pulled at, ruining the lovely cocoon he had fashioned and exposing his nicely warmed skin to the cool air. He tried valiantly to maintain possession of the duvet before Sasuke gave a particularly strong tug and he was left shivering in his boxers.

"You jerk!" Naruto shouted, fully awake now, rolling onto his back and sitting up to glare at his house mate. "What was that for?"

"You needed to get up," Sasuke said blankly. Naruto noticed with distaste that it did seem rather far into the day, if the position of the sun was to be trusted.

"Hmph," he said, shuffling to the side of the bed and jumping off. "Well I wouldn't have slept so much if someone hadn't been tossing and turning all night long." He shot an accusing glare in Sasuke's direction while bouncing over to the bathroom and splashing some water on his face, leaving the door open so he could see Sasuke. To his surprise, the other boy looked somewhat guilty.

"Sorry," He muttered, so low Naruto almost didn't hear it. "I was feeling strange."

In a flash, Naruto dashed out of the bathroom with his toothbrush hanging out of his mouth and grabbed Sasuke's forearms.

"Are you okay? Are you sick? Do you have a temperature?" The last question was punctuated by Naruto pressing his forehead to Sasuke's while his eyes darted wildly across the pale boy's features, trying to see any signs of the plague.

"Urg, you're spitting toothpaste," Sasuke pointed out, trying to free himself from Naruto who only gripped him the harder.

"What do you need Sasuke? Tell me, I can get it!" Naruto said desperately, grabbing a wrist and trying to find the other's pulse. "I can get chicken soup! Or chicken ramen at least. And tea! And I can go into the village to get some medicine. Or I could see a doctor and give them your symptoms, or-"

"What I need, is for you to be quiet and stop trying to give me a migraine," Sasuke grumbled, swatting Naruto's hands away and moving to the other side of the room. Naruto stared for a second, then scowled, taking the toothbrush out of his mouth.

"Sorry for being concerned about your health," he said sarcastically. "Excuse me for caring if you live or die." As he spoke he waved the toothbrush around for emphasis, causing little bits of froth to be spread across the room.

"My health is fine," Sasuke said frostily, then softened his tone. "That's not what I meant. I just feel weird. Different. Than I should."

"Different _how_?" Naruto asked, cocking his head to the side. Sasuke sighed frustrated.

"Look, I'll just test it out, and I'm probably wrong and everything's normal," he said.

"Okay good, great," said Naruto with a decisive nod. "We'll just test it out and then we'll know, so how should- OH MY GOD WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" Naruto shrieked, jumping out of the way as Sasuke performed a series of seals and then blew a mouthful of flame across the room. "Oh my god!" Naruto shouted again as the dresser caught on fire, before taking a deep breath and forming three seals for a simple water jutsu. As soon as the flames were out and the dresser had stopped smouldering, Naruto turned to Sasuke. "What the heck was that?" he demanded.

"Fire element, grand fireball technique," Sasuke said blankly, but his expression showed his surprise. "And it shouldn't have worked."

"Is this what you meant by 'feeling weird'?" Naruto asked hesitantly.

"Yes. I felt like the sealing on my chakra was weakening, and it was," Sasuke replied, walking over to the blackened dresser to examine it. "But that should be impossible. The seals were made to last indefinitely."

"Oh," said Naruto, suddenly understanding and sitting heavily on the bed. "Right. I guess I might have an explanation for that." Sasuke looked up sharply from the dresser.

"What do you mean?" he asked evenly, moving to stand in front of Naruto who looked nervously to once side, plucking at the bedclothes.

"...It's complicated. Sit?" He patted the bed and Sasuke sank down next to him. "You remember when I said I was a demon?"

"Vividly."

"I wasn't just saying that because of Zabuza," Naruto explained, putting his fidgeting hands in his lap. "What I mean is, I have a demon _inside_ of me."

"Jinchuuriki," Sasuke murmured lowly, one hand rising to brush feather soft against the whiskers on Naruto's cheek. Naruto looked at him, eyes desperate.

"You knew?" he whispered, grasping Sasuke's wrist with one of his hands.

"I guessed," Sasuke rectified. "And for those of us that can read kanji, your seal doesn't leave so much to the imagination." Sasuke's free hand ghosted over the skin around his navel, bringing out goosebumps. "Carry on."

"It means that I have two types of chakra," Naruto said, after taking a breath. "One is normal, the other belongs to the demon. But I can use it...in certain circumstances." (Naruto didn't really remember what happened the last time he lost control and let Kyuubi take over, but he remembered waking up surrounded by corpses with blood up to his elbows and couldn't avoid the implications of the evidence when they were so obvious.) "Even when I'm not using it though, it's still there, and can still affect the stuff around me." _Like you._

"How?"

"It's sort of...damaging. Disordered. Stuff like seals gets messed up. Zabuza said it was corrosive, or something."

"And that's what's happening to the seal on my chakra?"

"I guess so," Naruto said, resisting the urge to swing his legs and instead fisting the material of the linen. "I dunno really. It's probably because we've been...um.. together, so much recently." He trailed off, face red, looking at his knees. Kyuubi's chakra wasn't something he understood well, only that sometimes he got an extra burst of power when he needed it, and that when he got hurt he healed at a rate that most people would call unnatural.

"Naruto." A cool finger placed under his chin tilted his head up, and Naruto nearly flinched, not wanting to feel that tenderness. He knew what Sasuke was going to say and wished he could harden himself to the plea, wished he could say no. "So you could unseal anything, if you wished?" Sasuke's face was more open than Naruto had ever seen it, with hope and fear in equal proportions.

"...I guess so," Naruto admitted finally, unable to keep his eyes on Sasuke's face despite having no gaze to meet. "I dunno, I've never tried to unseal something in particular."

"But you could," Sasuke pressed, causing Naruto's insides to twist with something that wasn't quite guilt and wasn't quite despair. He couldn't hold out on Sasuke now, but if he didn't, there were no guarantees (and couldn't he be a bit selfish, just this once. Didn't he deserve it?)

"I could try," Naruto acknowledged miserably. "But I could easily mess it up. It could go wrong."

"How much wronger could it go?" Sasuke asked wryly, facing Naruto now with his weight on one arm while the other hand rested in a light, reassuring touch on Naruto's.

"You could go blind," Naruto said desperately. Sasuke's hand tightened over his.

"Naruto," Sasuke said again, and the blond let out a sad, little sound, the sound of someone giving up postponing the inevitable. "I trust you."

"If you get your sight back," Naruto started, finally voicing the unspoken request. "What will you do?" The hand on his tightened momentarily before releasing as Sasuke understood the implication and let go.

"I thought," he said tightly, "that you trusted me. If you don't want to-" He started to stand but Naruto's hand whipped out lightening fast and latched to his wrist, keeping him down.

"I _do_ trust you, you jerk," Naruto hissed, his eyes bright, before relaxing slightly, determination settling on his features. "And I'll do it." Sasuke stayed tense for a moment, then his shoulders relaxed, just minutely, but enough to signal his compliance.

"All right then."

"Just," Naruto waved a hand at the other, trying to feign nonchalance. "Just lie back." The dark haired boy nodded, shuffling up so that his head was on the pillow. Naruto watched as he took a deep breath, feeling his throat constrict. Just how much faith was Sasuke placing in him? Swallowing, Naruto moved to straddle Sasuke, sitting on his stomach so that his knees were on either side of the other's torso. Impulsively, he lent down to drop a kiss on his housemate's lips, which quirked in response, one eyebrow raising.

"Are you going to-"

"Be quiet," Naruto scolded, putting a hand over Sasuke's mouth. "Let me think."

The only way Naruto could fathom to unseal something, was to pull up a large amount of the fox's chakra and try to focus it on a specific place. It would require far more finesse than anything he usually did with the demon chakra, but shouldn't be too difficult. The hard part would probably be applying enough to break the seal but not so much as to harm Sasuke's eyesight.

"Just stay very still," Naruto whispered, resting the first fingers of each hand on Sasuke's temples and closing his eyes.

He took a few deep breaths, letting the motion of air entering and leaving his body lull him into a more relaxed state. He focused inwards, feeling his lungs inflate and deflate, the steady, slow beat of his heart contracting. Then, looking further until he found that bright blue glow of his chakra, warm and comforting. Searching amongst the blue, he sought out a trace of the scarlet he was looking for and managed to find a single coil, sunk low into the centre. Summoning his mental will, Naruto pulled at it, freeing more and more in heavy, noxious clouds. It wasn't toxic after the first few seconds, but energising, making him feel ready to go for a three mile run without breaking a sweat. Concentrating, he carefully fed the chakra into his hands, and then to his fingers which were resting either side of Sasuke's forehead. He tried to release as little as possible, but still heard a little gasp of surprise from Sasuke as the chakra made contact with his skin. Immediately, Naruto felt the energy from the seals meet it, as if coming up against a barrier. The seals over Sasuke's eyes were much more intricate than those on his chakra, which explained why Naruto's presence so far had had no effect. It was almost as if the village didn't think Sasuke was a threat if he had his eyes covered.

Feeling little effect, Naruto increased the intensity of the chakra and immediately started to feel the seals react, the complex clauses starting to weaken and unfurl under the pressure. For a second, as the delicately woven structure started to fall, Naruto felt panic at undoing something so elaborate, that once removed couldn't be reapplied. Then he remembered; he was doing this for Sasuke. He remembered the look on Sasuke's face when he passed him the sword, that day in the woods, while he increased his chakra minutely and felt the last threads of the seal hold valiantly for a moment before succumbing and dissipating. With a sigh of relief the blond exhaled, opening his eyes quickly and scanning Sasuke's features. For a moment the black ink of the seal remained, stark against his pale skin, then it flickered and faded away, until Naruto was left with an unrestricted view of the other's face. He looked better without the seals, Naruto decided, his attention snapping back as the dark haired boy's eyelids started to flutter.

"Sasuke?" Naruto asked, swallowing to moisten his suddenly dry throat. "Did it work? Are you okay?"

Slowly, almost hesitantly, Sasuke opened his eyes.

He blinked, once, twice, his gaze roving around the room, before settling intently on the boy in front of him.

"Naruto," he said firmly, as the blond struggled to memorise the other's features perfectly, to categorise the dark shade of his eyes and the intensity of his expression. He swallowed again, still sitting on Sasuke, before managing to speak.

"Hi."

Trust wasn't the issue, Naruto tried to reassure himself.

Or.. maybe it was.

It was just that, trusting Sasuke when Sasuke couldn't see, couldn't use his chakra... Well that had been relatively easy. Sasuke had _needed_ Naruto, and he didn't have much choice but to stay. Now Sasuke could see. And he could use his chakra. And there was really no need to hang around in the big empty house with the weird fox-boy that kept bothering him. For someone like Sasuke, the last few weeks must have been hell, confined to the house, no end in sight. Literally. And now he was free.

The way Sasuke had been acting had done little to reassure Naruto. Initially, his reaction had seemed...positive. But in the last few days things had started to change. Little things that Naruto could count off on his fingers, but they were changes all the same. Naruto didn't want things with Sasuke to change, he wanted them to stay the same. But already things were different. Even though Sasuke always woke before Naruto, he used to wake the blond before leaving their bedroom. Now Naruto often woke up alone, with no idea where the other was. When he asked Sasuke later, the raven replied he had been exploring or training, although he wouldn't be more specific than that. Naruto understood, if he hadn't been able to see for so long, when he regained his sight he would be curious and want to relearn how everything looked. He just didn't understand why he couldn't be with Sasuke when he did. The other boy seemed quieter too, not that he'd ever been excessively verbose, but now he was almost silent, not responding to any of Naruto's comments, even staying quiet when the blond resorted to insults.

Naruto wanted to give Sasuke the benefit of the doubt, he wanted to believe it was only temporary and that in a few days things would go back to normal, but deep down, he almost regretted unsealing the other. Maybe if he had never unsealed Sasuke, things would still be the same, they'd still talk and tease each other. But then, Sasuke would have been angry if Naruto wouldn't unseal him, and ultimately, Naruto couldn't have left Sasuke like that if he had the power to help him.

And now, it seemed like he had lost him.

While Naruto waited for the kettle to boil listening to the soft bubbling as the water heated up, he tried to think of ways to make Sasuke stay with him. He could promise to help Sasuke with whatever he wanted to do. He could threaten to follow him if he left and not leave him alone. He could lock him in one of the vaults and make him swear not to leave. He could fight him...

Naruto sighed as the kettle began to whistle and poured hot water into his mug, watching the teabag float to the top and bob there. He didn't really want to do that. He wanted Sasuke to stay, but he wanted Sasuke to want to stay. Didn't he mean anything to the other boy? Weren't they at least friends, if not much more?  
Lifting his mug Naruto blew gently on the tea, causing the water to ripple producing miniature waves. He took an experimental sip and winced before sticking his tongue out. Too hot. While he added cold water to the tea, he considered his options for the afternoon. He didn't know where Sasuke was, he'd practiced with the sword all morning, and Haku's book seemed boring all of a sudden. He'd found a section on demon chakra and its effect on seals, but it hadn't said anything about what happened when you used the chakra to unseal your maybe best friend's eyes and then he lost all interest in you. That left meditating, which although boring was perhaps what Naruto needed right now. Something that would let him clear his mind and not think about Sasuke for once.

His mind made up, Naruto left the kitchen, weaving through the now familiar hallways with the intent of reaching his bedroom. On the way a photo hanging on the wall caught his eye, the one of the family that he had daydreamed about for so long. There was Sasuke, so young, his eyes bright with excitement. Everyone in that photograph was dead, Naruto realised. Father, mother, older brother. And the young, naive, childish, hopeful Sasuke that had once existed. Maybe that was the problem. Maybe Sasuke had just been through too much, had seen too much to have any meaningful relationship with him. Well if that was true, it was too bad, because Naruto Uzumaki didn't give up. Not on anything.

Abandoning his plans for meditation, Naruto decided to look for Sasuke and straighten this out once and for all. He wouldn't let this, -whatever it was- end so feebly. He'd fight to keep it alive. He passed his own room, meaning to go on to the bigger bedroom he and Sasuke shared, when he paused, noting that his door was slightly ajar. He had definitely closed it, he knew because he was in the habit of always closing his door since to begin with it had been the only part of the house not covered in dust and he didn't like waking up in the middle of the night to sneeze eight times without a break. Moving back to his door he heard shuffling inside. Frowning, tea still in hand, Naruto debated whether to put the mug down in case it was an intruder, deciding not to. Whoever it was, he could take them out with one hand.

Sliding the door open, he recognised Sasuke knelt over something next to his bed and relaxed.

"Oh hey," he said, feeling slightly confused. "What are you..." He trailed off as his eyes moved to the travel bag lying open at Sasuke's feet, containing the few outfits he owned, his book, and he could see the two pots of ramen he kept under his pillow nestled inside too. "What the hell?" Sasuke regarded him calmly from his position on the floor, before turning back to the bag.

"I haven't put anything from your shelf except the forehead protector in, they don't seem like the sort of things that would travel well," he said coolly, gesturing with one hand to the mainly still occupied shelf.

"Why are you packing my stuff?!" Naruto exclaimed, still stood in the doorway.

"Do you know what day it is, Naruto?" Sasuke asked, pausing in folding some of Naruto's clothes to fix Naruto with an onyx gaze.

"No I don't," Naruto answered brusquely. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"It's forty nine days since we met," Sasuke went on, as if Naruto hadn't spoken.

"Okay... Great. So what?"

"So, do you remember the deal we made?"

Instantly, Naruto was transported back into the kitchen on that fateful day, back to the moment when he came up with the unscrupulous idea of using emotional blackmail to make Sasuke let him stay in the house for a month, reasoning that was more than enough to persuade the shinobi to let him stay indefinitely. It had worked, he supposed, even if he really hadn't expected it to turn out like this.

"What of it?" Naruto asked defensively, not particularly proud of that behaviour regardless of the motive.

"Then you went to the market three times and as a result, got twenty one extra days."

"No," Naruto corrected. "I've been to the market more than that."

"True," Sasuke allowed. "But you stopped claiming extra weeks."

"Yeah but..." Naruto paused, looking again at Sasuke, then the bag, before his eyes widened in realisation.

"That's what this is about? My time's up and you're throwing me out?"

"That's what we agreed, isn't it?" Sasuke asked monotonously, turning back to the bag.

"Yeah, but that was _then_," Naruto emphasised. "Things change!"

"So what you're saying," Sasuke said, getting to his feet, "is that you want to live in a big empty house in the middle of a big empty district on the edge of a village that doesn't know you exist, _all on your own_?" The last few words were like twisting the knife in, and before Naruto knew it, he had tackled the other boy.

They landed awkwardly, half against the bed, half on the floor, and Naruto managed to get a good punch in before Sasuke caught his wrist. They grappled, Naruto managing to pin the raven only to find himself twisted and their positions reversed.

"Get off," Naruto gritted out, trying to shove at Sasuke which only restarted their tussle which ended with Naruto being pinned more securely.

"You're so impetuous," Sasuke murmured, adjusting his grip so both Naruto's wrists were encircled in one hand, leaving the other free to ghost against his cheek. Naruto froze at the touch, his eyes locking with Sasuke, widening as the other boy drew closer, before he turned his head to the side. "Don't," he muttered through his teeth. He could feel Sasuke's breath hot against his neck and swallowed, shuddering when the other's tongue flicked out to lick his neck. "_Don't_."

"Why?" Sasuke asked, leaning so there were just millimetres between them, but they were not quite touching. His presence made it almost impossible for Naruto to focus, but he forced himself to.

"Because you're _leaving_, you jerk," Naruto said, trying to unbalance Sasuke by moving his legs, which only resulted in Sasuke moving to rest more comfortably against the other boy. "Isn't this good enough for you?"

"Naruto, I can't stay in this village any more. I can't and I don't want to," Sasuke said seriously, in a way that made it impossible for Naruto to look away. Sasuke with his eyes open was like a completely different person, they were his most dominant feature, and Naruto continuously felt himself being drawn in.

"But what about your house?" _What about me?_

"It's just a house, Naruto. Just a building. Anything that remained of the family left a long time ago."  
Naruto glared defiantly, ignoring the stinging he could feel creeping at the corner of his eyes.

"If _you're_ leaving, what's the point in kicking me out, huh?" Naruto asked bitterly, scowling up at Sasuke. "It's not like someone else's gonna use the house." Sasuke leaned back a little, tilting his head as he observed Naruto.

"Would you be happy with that? Living in Konoha for the rest of your life, living in secret, having no one recognise you, no real value to your existence?"

"What does it matter, you're not giving me that choice. Between living in the forest and living in a house, I'd choose the house," Naruto said sulkily.  
There was a pause before Sasuke spoke, his words carefully chosen.

"Naruto, I'm not asking you to choose between the forest and the house. I'm leaving, and I'm giving you the choice to come with me."

Naruto stared, no longer struggling against the hold Sasuke had on his wrists.

"Me, go with you?"

Sasuke nodded.

"But whether you come with me or not, you have to leave the house," he said firmly. "Since before I leave I'm going to burn it to the ground." Naruto's eyes widened, his mouth opening in shock, before his expression settled into sad understanding. He couldn't look at Sasuke's eyes, and instead re-memorised his features, casting his gaze along his jaw, the bridge of his nose, noting the tiny lines around his eyes, the sad downturn of his mouth. Without thinking, he pulled one hand from the loosened grip and touched the tips of his fingers to the corner of Sasuke's lips, trying to push it upwards into a smile.

"Naruto?"

"Where- where would we go?" he asked hesitantly. Above him, Sasuke shrugged.

"Does it matter? Anywhere that's far away enough from here. Somewhere we wont be recognised."

"To do what?"

Sasuke shrugged again.

"Whatever we want. To kill people or to protect them. To be ninja or demons or to open our own ramen stand."

"Our own ramen stand?"

"If you like."

"Could we serve tea too?"

"Sure.

Naruto considered for a moment, before cupping the back of Sasuke's neck with his free hand and reaching up to press his lips chastely against the other's.

"Okay then, I guess we could try," he said with a bright smile. Sasuke returned the expression with a soft grin and a look in his eyes that made Naruto's heart squeeze.

"We'll give it a month," Sasuke promised, and Naruto laughed, kissing him again before pushing at his shoulder so that Sasuke rolled back onto the floor.

"When are we going?" Naruto asked breathlessly, looking to the side at Sasuke who lifted one shoulder half heartedly.

"As soon as we finish packing?" he suggested. "It's not as though there are any serious plans to be made." Naruto stared at him in bewilderment, before shaking his head, jumping to his feet.

"Then what are you lying around for? Let's pack!" Naruto announced excitedly, kneeling over the bag and rummaging through its contents. From the floor, Sasuke huffed.

"I _was_ packing," he said. Naruto ignored him.

"Let's see: clothes, book, feather, forehead protector..."Naruto counted off, before stopping abruptly and running out of the room. He reappeared a minute later, his arms laden with items that he dropped on the bed.

"We're not taking all that ramen," Sasuke said flatly. Naruto looked mortally offended.

"You can't seriously expect me to leave it behind," he replied.

"Can't you just choose a few?" Sasuke asked, finally standing up and looking at the pile of cup ramen sceptically. Naruto's mouth dropped open and he stared in shock before snapping out of it and looking affronted.

"You want me to _pick_?" He all but shrieked, grabbing a random cup and hugging it to his chest.

"That's- that's inhumane!"

"There's not enough room," Sasuke retorted, his eyes narrowing. "At least _some_ of this will have to go." He looked down at the bed, moving aside the ramen to find two boxes of tea. He frowned, a shiny black frame was peeking out from under one of the boxes. Sasuke reached out his hand to pick it up, but Naruto caught his wrist, picking up the frame himself in his free hand. "You're taking that?" Sasuke asked, surprised.

"Yeah," Naruto replied, relishing the emotion in Sasuke's eyes. Releasing Sasuke's wrist he held the frame in two hands, looking at the family in the photograph. It seemed like a long time ago that he had imagined himself as a part of it. "Unless," his tone was coloured by hesitancy, "you want it?"

"Hn," Sasuke grunted. "You keep it." He watched Naruto trace the edge of the frame with his finger for a moment. "Although I don't know why you would want it." Naruto looked up, caught offguard by the question before a shy smile grew on his face.

"I like being able to see you," he said simply, watching understanding with a pleased undertone dawn on Sasuke's face.

"Yeah," Sasuke agreed quietly, his eyes tracing Naruto's features with muted reverence. "I can understand that."


End file.
